Soul Seeker
by welshalienfreak
Summary: *NOW COMPLETE* A couple of female vampires are in town and all they bring with them is more trouble and Xander seems to be in the middle of it.*please review*
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all its characters belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, UPN etc except for Anna, Naomi, Shannon, Lynette and Gerathon who are mine. There is also some pop culture I have used and those things belong to their rightful owners and that doesn't include me.  
  
Authors note: Thankyou to my friends for helping with the ideas of this story and being my personal proofreaders.  
  
I would like reviews please as this is my first story. You can be critical as otherwise how will I learn. Please comment on characters as well as the story as that would be nice. Thankyou!  
  
Soul Seeker  
  
The arrogant teenagers head fell to the floor, his body ran around for a bit like a chicken indicating his lack of intelligence. Slowly his body finally hit the cold floor with a loud thud; some girls laughed at the sight. They could be no other than Naomi and Anna the cruel, vicious vampires with a thing for chopping off people's head. Though they hadn't been undead for along they were already making their mark on the world with their methods of killing. They would find a small group of teenagers. Three was the preferred number. Two would have their blood drained and the other would loose their head.  
  
Teenagers were the perfect targets for vampires as they were always disappearing. Parents and the police normally were brought to the conclusion that they had just run way or eloped. Even when the bodies were found with holes in their necks and their heads detached from the bodies, the case was often put away shortly after the murders. The girls would never kill more than fifteen in each town and leave the bodies, as the new faces were always the first suspects. Sometimes they would burn them instead so no body could be found.  
  
They had travelled to Sunnydale on the plane, which was daring for vampires, but they were also slightly mad. Really being vampires they should have taken a boat out to America, but Anna couldn't wait that long and was crazy enough to risk the plane journey. Naomi was hesitant at first to go though the mention of few names easily persuaded her.  
  
The mystical energy of the Hellmouth had drawn them to the graveyard where they stood. Originally they were just going to look around, but a small group of lads and a girl had attracted their attention. As they had walked passed the boys had attempted to annoy them by calling them names. One lad didn't, as he was too busy playing tonsil hockey with his girlfriend. The girls had closed in on them to show them their true appearance. The couple had run away in time. The girlfriend had stopped to breathe and had seen them properly grabbing her boyfriend and fled leaving the perfect number. It had been a welcoming feast for them with entertainment as the head rolled around.  
  
They strolled further into the cemetery and they found what they were looking for. At first they hadn't planned to meet him, but she had told them so much about him. They had to put a name to a face.  
  
"Mmm...." Said Anna as her eyes gazed at the extremely gorgeous man. The duster he wore looked very sexy on him. The pace he walked at made the end lift slightly into the air.  
  
"Well, we can't just stand here, especially when there's so much more over there." They had been standing behind a tree looking at the guy. Naomi wanted to do more then watch though. Anna and Naomi walked along the grass towards to the man with the bleached blond hair and a scar on his left eyebrow.  
  
"Bloody hell." The very sexy man had a cockney accent he was very yummy. He had been surprised by the sudden appearance, but he had seen them before either of the girls had a chance to speak.  
  
" Hi there." Anna was first to speak to him. She held her hands behind her back and flicked her hair back off her face. She had done it as a subtle attempt at flirting.  
  
"Can I help you?" He replied in serious tone.  
  
"Are you Spike by any chance?" Naomi asked with a smile on her face.  
  
"Depends who wants to know." He was now looking a way. Not many people had come looking for him lately.  
  
"Oh it just that Drusilla told us all about you." Naomi spoke again to him knowing that was the right thing to say to catch his attention.  
  
Spike was suddenly very interested in the mysterious females who appeared as if out of no-where.  
  
"Dru?" He said his ex girlfriends' name. They had been more then that though. For one hundred years they had been together, fed together and travelled the world together. She had been there when he had killed his first vampire slayer. Drusilla had been the one who had sired him giving him the ability to kill a slayer.  
  
"Depends who wants to know?" Anna mocked his earlier words.  
  
"ME!" His vamp face came on. That was all he had to scare people now that the annoying Initiative had put a chip in his brain. The chip would stop him from harming anyone, he could try but a sharp pain would occur in his head.  
  
"Oh so very scary, well at least we know that it's definitely you." Naomi looked away then her vamp face appeared.  
  
"Naomi, you could of told me your, you're a vampire and after all we've been through. Oh well." Anna put her game face on as well and they laughed together.  
  
"It must have slipped my mind, I'm sorry, it was...." She was interrupted by Spike who was now prepared to listen as long as they could keep him interested.  
  
"Excuse me, what about Dru?" They all shown their wrinklies and the topic had turned away from them and Drusilla.  
  
"Oh we met her on crazy vamp night, it was when we went to some boy groups concert," Anna gave out a small but cruel laugh "and obliterated them, the other girls weren't happy, but they'll thank us when they get taste in music."  
  
"What was Dru doing there?" He didn't why the hell she would be there and he didn't care. At her ex-boyfriend it was his right not to care what his ex-lover was up to.  
  
"Well we stole 3 tickets from our dinner and after she finished feeding she came in." Naomi cherished the memory of the boygroup in little pieces on girls' hair.  
  
"So was it me you guys came here for?" Spike continued asking questions, as he still wasn't sure about what was going on. He did consider the fact that Drusilla had sent a couple of vampires to kill him. Though he wasn't sure if she still cared enough to do that.  
  
"Of course." Anna and Naomi said at the same time. It wasn't the only reason, but it was one of them.  
  
"We just wanted to meet this Spike she kept going on about. The one who had joined forces with the slayer and was never the same after that." Anna had continued with the explanation "Okay we were coming to America anyway. She had heard that who had returned to Sunnydale, as you were obsessed with killing the slayer. We were also told about the Hellmouth and we just had to see what the fuss was about."  
  
They both looked into the distance and saw someone else, who was kinda sexy, their eyes trailed up and down to check him out. Naomi just stared mouth wide open. He was about 46 and that was old, but they couldn't help seeing his cute bum.  
  
"What are you looking at?" Spike couldn't work it out all he could see was the watcher, which meant Buffy the slayer couldn't be far away.  
  
"Who's he?" They didn't know what, there was just something about him. It was quite funny actually. Anna wanted to laugh.  
  
"Him, that's Giles."  
  
"He's so so so sexy!!!" Naomi was now exaggerating.  
  
He was not alone a couple of girls and two other even more sexy, younger lads appeared. One was short, with blue hair, a Nirvana T-shirt on and his eyebrow pieced; Naomi was officially drowning in her drool. Anna had spotted this tall, dark haired gorgeous guy with the loveliest smile she'd ever seen; she too could no longer see the ground under the shallow pool. There was nothing to do but go over there.  
  
"Those guys they are just pure yum." Anna started to walk, but Spike grabbed her arm to stop her. She quickly made him let go.  
  
"You can't go there, that's the slayer and her palls. The Scooby gang!" Spike shouted it at them as a warning. "Xander and Oz, she's not going to let you two near them."  
  
"Fuck it and fuck Xander and Oz, oh yeah!!!!!"  
  
"Yeah! I'm wanna fuck Oz now! He is the one in the Nirvana T-shirt." said Naomi and Spike nodded. "Oh yeah!"  
  
"You two are looking for a staking if you go there." Warned Spike again, he was cute but he could be annoying if he kept warning them, when really Anna and Naomi were crazy enough to do anything.  
  
"We're not stupid, I mean I've heard about this slayer and she's tricky. We'd be stupid to attack her after our jet lag and just attack." Anna had mentioned their knowledge of Spike and the slayer that could not be killed. They would stay put with Spike. The girls did not mind being with Spike. Anna thought he was very sexy but was not as attracted to him as she was to dark haired guy in the distance. Naomi though was struggling to decide which of two she preferred.  
  
"Your underestimating us, we can actually think before we act." Naomi had a cunning plan, as cunning as a fox who's professor of cunning at Oxford University. She wondered where she got that?  
  
"What's the plan then?" Spike was getting anxious.  
  
Anna was definitely the expert in this area as she had watched so much TV that she was an expert on TV plans. Anna was in serious need of a life, but it was a bit late when you're undead. Naomi was also an expert but not as good as Anna who kinda scared her when she realised how much her friend needed a life out of TV. They were in Sunnydale though a place that actually existed. Things were strange there but it was still real.  
  
"This slayer has got one thing that a lot in the past didn't, friends, she has a lot more help and support. We plan to take two of them away. The lovely Xander and Oz, their no good to us alive, but I have a feeling that a leather jacket would look very sexy on Xander." Anna smiled very happily and a little bit of drool appeared but she wiped it away very quickly.  
  
"Hang on Xander only wears a leather jacket when he's evil."  
  
Mmm...thought Anna evil Xander in leather jacket, nothing more, nothing less, oh maybe a smile.  
  
"If Xander is evil, that means that you want to turn them into vampires."  
  
They both did a sarcastic clap, but Naomi spoke,  
  
"Well he's smarter then he looks. I've heard that you've been trying for three years and no success with any kill and now in your state you can't hurt a fly."  
  
"Still if you wanted to hurt the slayer Willow and Giles are more important in the way they can help her." Spike made his point clear. Giles was Buffys watcher so he had a lot of information on slayers and the supernatural. He also trained her to be the best she could. Willow was very clever and was also practising magick.  
  
"Giles maybe sexy, but he's too old they taste funny and get stuck in your teeth. Willow, why would we want to make her a vampire?" Naomi asked. It was the guy she stood very close to that was more interesting to Naomi.  
  
"Willow just happens to be going out with your darling Oz and it's not so much making a vamp than just the kill."  
  
"Does Xander have a girlfriend?" Anna had hoped that he was single, but she also knew that it must be hard for a guy like that to stay single.  
  
"Somehow he does happen to have a girlfriend called Anya, an ex vengeance demon for scorned women, I quite like her for some reason." Spike put on a worried face. They had a thing in common. They both miss the powers that they use to have.  
  
"Still he's mine for the taking, how is she gonna stop me?" Anna had her seriously don't mess with me looks on her face.  
  
"With a big pointy stick and a slayer attached to it." Spike was being harsh; Anna and Naomi liked it. They knew all they wanted was a little nibble on the necks of Xander and Oz and that would work better if girlfriends weren't in the way.  
  
"If we can split them up and get them on their own we could get them, people are always weaker without a slayer to protect them." Said Naomi.  
  
"What use is Oz and Xander as vampires gonna be to me." Spike wanted something if he was going to consider helping them. His interest lied more in the death of the slayer.  
  
"Oh come on, not every vampire that walks into this town just wants to kill the slayer, we like being around and as long as she doesn't know we're vampires, we can go after Xander and Oz safely. Who is stupid enough to go and flash their game face with this few a number? Maybe if we'll be subtle and just slip a bit of poison in her drink. Slayer are stronger than vampires, she has the edge, boys just wanna show off their testosterone and fight till their dumb butts are dead on the floor." That was Anna's quick thought of a plan though she knew that another one would have to be used. She didn't like it, but it was true that it was brains to be used mostly to get what they wanted.  
  
"Girls have the brains to think out a plan. Fighting is so caveman and you wouldn't catch me in that outfit. Slayers don't have to die in a fight, you ever thought of that Spikey babes." Naomi gave Spike his new nickname. She liked it but knew it may annoy him.  
  
"Actually that never occurred to me, maybe I put it into action one day. You never quite told me your plan of action you know you just seemed to yap on a lot about stuff and I'm actually a bit confused. You're going to turn Xander and Oz into vampires how, did you know that Oz was a werewolf."  
  
"Oh once he's a vampire he'll be okay and the whole doggy thing would have been just a phase." said Naomi "Actually he'd look pretty cute in a dog collar, mmm..."  
  
"I don't think the time is right to just attack now. Xander will have to go home and be on his own at some point. That's when I'll strike." Plan A was laid out in Annas' mind.  
  
Buffy, Willow, Oz, Giles and Xander walked along the damp grass of the graveyard; there had been no sightings of vampires on this night. Willow and Oz had joined the others after the Dingoes had played at the bronze. The bronze had been dead, just like the cemetery; maybe everything was just dead.  
  
"Look I'm gonna head home, I'm getting tired and I've got to get up for work in the morning." Said Xander who had recently got the job of ice cream man after selling corn dogs, pizza and chocolate bars. There was also a little bit of time when he done digging but the syphilis and Native Americans had put an end to that. "Well those ice creams aren't gonna hand themselves out."  
  
"Yeah, I've got my van who wants a lift home?" Oz politely offered.  
  
"You guys head on home I'll do one more sweep of the area and head home on my own."  
  
"Are you sure Buffy? I'll stay with you and give you a lift home in my car." Giles tried not to yawn, so it looked more like he was about to fart.  
  
"Well okay." Buffy didn't like Giles car it was as old as some of the books in the library had been. The others went home leaving Buffy and Giles alone with the dead.  
  
Xander lay in bed with only a sheet to cover him. This was Southern California and it did tend to get very hot, during any time of the year. He thought he heard someone whisper his name, but he dismissed it and told himself it was just the wind. He remembered his days as a hyena and what they would do to get their meal; the hyena would call your name after the fire had died out to separate you from the others. Then devour you, course he had only eaten a pig, Willow had been on the menu but Buffy had put a stop to that.  
  
"Xander..." there it was again, the whisper in the wind "...let me in..." living on the Hellmouth he knew that would be stupid "...I won't hurt you." Living on the Hellmouth he knew that was a lie.  
  
Buffy walked into Giles' condo, Giles was lost in a book about demons and Willow was making drinks in the kitchen. Xander was on the couch not doing much, but that was nothing new, he did look very tired though.  
  
"Sleep well?" She asked no witty comment came to mind at first "or did Anya keep you up all night?" Buffy asked Xander. He and Anya were always having sex everyone knew as Anya had yet to learn the ability of tact.  
  
"No, it sounds really stupid but I think was hearing things in the night." Xander couldn't keep a secret from his friends except for his middle name. It was better that he did tell them so that if it was something Buffy could come to the rescue.  
  
"That's not stupid, more crazy, or aren't you letting us into your drugs circle?"  
  
She smiled "This is Sunnydale though, tell me every thing you heard."  
  
"It called my name a few times, then it said let me in, I won't hurt you." He remembered that the voice had been more like a whisper a whisper at first then the whispers had got loader.  
  
"Did you?" asked Willow who joined the conversation wondering if he did.  
  
"Hey I'm smarter then you give me credit for." Xander may not have been smart enough to get great marks in the SATs but he did have some smarts.  
  
"This is quite interesting" Anything weird and wonderful interested Giles; Buffy was surprised that he hadn't gone to Roswell on an Alien hunt. "Did you at least look at of the window?"  
  
"Giles, I live in a basement, windows aren't really an option here." Xander knew he could have opened the door to see what it was. If it had been a vampire then it wouldn't be able to come in. Unless he invited it in like the voice wanted him too.  
  
"Shame, maybe tonight it will return." Sometimes Giles did that. He became so fascinated in what it could be he forgot about other people. Of course he wouldn't let harm come to anyone.  
  
"Hey, have you got a death wish for me?" Xander asked Giles.  
  
"What ever made you think that?" Giles answered the question with another question; sometimes he was as glum as his tweed.  
  
"Um, well, the only thing to I can do to see it is open my door and I'm really going to do that! I mean it was probably a vampire because it wanted to be invited in, but what would I do if it weren't? I would probably be in deep shit." Xander answered his own question.  
  
"Hmmm, I don't think that would be a good idea to open the door for that reason."  
  
"That's why I was being sarcastic" Xander gave up "Buffy?"  
  
"Was it a vampire? I mean as you said it did want to be invited in."  
  
"I wonder what it wanted..." Xander was interrupted by Willow. It would probably want a nibble on his neck, but it had gone to his house.  
  
"Did anyone see today's newspaper?" Willow had a disgusted look on her face, so it was not going to be new shop brings ten new jobs to Sunnydale.  
  
"I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, why?" Giles and the other looked at the newspaper headline and continued reading the article.  
  
3 TEENS FOUND DEAD  
  
Police have found no clue into three teens death last night. Two were found were puncher marks in their necks the other was decapitated. Their friends who do not wish their names to be mentioned ran away from the attackers. The attackers were two females and had some kind of mask on which distorted their faces. After a while they returned to see what had happened to their friends after they didn't follow. Continued on page 4.  
  
Only Giles read the rest of the article on page four the others talked about the murders.  
  
"Well that stinks of vampires!" said Willow who pointed out the obvious.  
  
"Yep, the whole strange face, frighten them then feed. The routine doesn't normally change." Buffy had saved many people after a night at the bronze, who been taken outside by hungry vampires. At first they looked normal then before they fed they would reveal their vampire features  
  
"Decapitation though, this isn't exactly normal for a vampire." Giles rubbed his forehead after putting the paper down. " Willow could you go on the computer and look up anymore deaths like this."  
  
"I'm computer girl and I just happen to have my lap top right here." Willow opened it up and logged on, if anyone could find out anything Willow was the girl and Buffy knew that.  
  
"I wonder if this has anything to do with Xanders' visitor last night." Giles looked at Xander.  
  
"Well it better not, I've had enough experience with nearly losing my head." Three years ago Natalie French had turned out to be a giant Praying Mantis and had planned to use Xander to lay her eggs. Unfortunately for the male this meant losing their heads, luckily Buffy had come just in time to save him. One close encounter of the decapitation kind was enough for Xander. 


	2. Chapter Two

Anna hadn't arrived back in time at Spikes' crypt before sunrise. She had been out trying to get Xander to open the door but she knew he wouldn't. She wasn't quite sure if she had actually wanted him to be stupid enough to do that. She had had to find her way back using the sewers and because she was knew in town it had taken her a while to find her way through the many miles of sewers in Sunnydale. Naomi was there as well and she had a big smile on her face.  
  
"Where have you been?" Anna asked in a bad mood. The Sunnydale tunnels had not been pleasant.  
  
"I've been right here all the time." The smile increased a bit more.  
  
"For the rest of the night?" Anna didn't like being inside at night, as they didn't get out much in the day she tended to stay outside for as long as possible. Sometimes that involved being outside a few before dawn would some.  
  
"Ah ha."  
  
"Doing what?" Spikes crypt with dull all there was to do really was watch TV. They had gone inside shortly after their conversation, but Anna left just a few minutes after going in. When she had gone back outside Xander was gone. Luckily Spike knew where he lived.  
  
"Stuff. Where did you go?"  
  
"Xanders of course, remember Spike gave me directions. I was interested in his place and I was looking around and found something." Anna put one of her hands in her pocket.  
  
"So tell me what you've got." Asked Naomi expecting Anna to reveal the interesting item in her pocket.  
  
"I'll tell you later." She brought her hand back out of her pocket. "First you have to tell me what you were up to last night."  
  
Naomi didn't answer. Her smile though had turned into a huge grin. Anna saw Spike for the first time this morning; he was wearing nothing but a smile and a towel. Then Anna noticed Naomi wasn't wearing her own clothes it was a huge shirt, Spikes shirt.  
  
"OH MY GOD, YOU DIDN'T, DID YOU?"  
  
"I did and it was great, all five times and it lasted a long time."  
  
"I only have one thing to say to that, BITCH!" Anna smiled herself "He is such a honey and I am in such jealousy. What about Oz?"  
  
"What about Oz? I can have them both, can't I?"  
  
There was a knock on the door and a voice to answer it.  
  
"Who is it?" He shouted and then he whispered, "You two hide back, I'll get rid of them." Anna and Naomi hid one in the coffin and the other under the bed.  
  
"It's Buffy and Xander, who else would it be?" Spike opened the door.  
  
"Well I happen to have a lot of friends."  
  
"I thought they all wanted to see you staked." Buffy enjoyed picking on Spike; well he deserved after all the trouble he had caused them, especially two years ago.  
  
"What do you want? Do you know what time it is? I should be sleeping!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah we don't exactly want to be here either. There were some brutal vampire attacks last night on a couple of lads, do you know anything about it?"  
  
"No and even if I did I wouldn't tell you anything."  
  
"So how do we know if you're lying?" Xander never trusted he knew he was harmless, but he still couldn't be trusted.  
  
"That's just a chance…"  
  
"Quit it Spike, we're not going through that." Buffy was fed up of the lack of answers she got from Spike and yet she never staked him.  
  
"Well maybe I could tell you something what's it worth?"  
  
"You get live another annoying day."  
  
"I fail to see the threat, I'm to valuable for information."  
  
"Here's the threat" Buffy pulled out Mr Pointy " and you're not actually Mr answers these days, so I think you've run your afterlife span." She was just about to put the stake through the heart when unfortunately he answered her.  
  
"Yeah I know about your two female vampires, they're new here, living in some empty house on Maple Street, killed a load of squatters for it."  
  
"That's better." Buffy put Mr Pointy away and headed for the door with Xander "Remember if you're lying, it's hello to Mr Pointy again and bye bye Spike." They exited the crypt. A few seconds later Anna and Naomi reappeared from their hiding places.  
  
"You two better be careful, if anything you don't want the slayer on your back." Spike warned, he was right Buffy was good at what she did and he didn't want her staking Naomi and Anna, Naomi especially. He strolled over to her and kissed her.  
  
"Well where did you send them to?" asked an impatient Anna.  
  
"Sure it's a vampire hangout, she'll probably find two female vampires there and stake them instead." Spike smiled "If not I'm pretty much dead."  
  
"You could have saved your arse there, but you saved us instead, that's very sweet of you." Naomi snogged him; Anna looked away and rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
"So are we hitting them now or later?" Xander hoped now because he was bored and he didn't want to be told to go home.  
  
"I'm just gonna pick up a few things and we'll hit them in daylight." Xander and Buffy headed to Giles where she could get some weapons. Mr Pointy was good, but she needed back up. They quickly arrived at Giles' condo, where he and Willow were waiting.  
  
"Spike gave us a place check out, the problem is do we trust him?"  
  
"Well you better just in case for the first time ever he tells the truth, without the assistance of black magic." Giles looked at the book he was holding. "We haven't had much luck though in finding an identity for the two female vampires."  
  
"There are several murders that lead to Great Britain, but after that it gets a bit messy." Willow turned away from her laptop "Hang on I think that I've found something else, just give me a minute."  
  
"What is with you British?" said Xander  
  
"Yes I was quite surprised myself, I think the vampires are new, as the killings only start about one year ago, but the origin is hard to find."  
  
"Okay, the earliest one I can find is in Rhyl then Chester, Liverpool, Birmingham and London. They spread all around Wales and England."  
  
"Who were the first victims?" asked Buffy  
  
"Two girls and one lad. The girls had their blood drained and then a few days later a lad was from nearby with his neck snapped." Willow looked at Buffy who was in deep thought mode.  
  
"The two girls they're the vampires."  
  
"I thought the two girls were the first victims?" said a confused Xander.  
  
"They were killed then they came back and were repeating similar deaths to theirs."  
  
"With the mystical energy of the Hellmouth attracting them here, of course." Giles smiled.  
  
"Can you get a picture of them?"  
  
"No there isn't one on-line, but there is a description it if you call it that, which I guess helps. Anna is 18, has long brown hair, quite tall and Naomi was 19, with ginger and blond streaks and is a bit taller then Anna."  
  
"It's better than nothing," Buffy shrugged ", but still close to nothing."  
  
"Wasn't there some vampire butt that needed kicking?"  
  
"You make a good point Xand." It was about time they headed off to see if Spike was telling the truth; at least with the description she had she would have a better idea if she staked the right two. Then again any vampire being dust was good news. Buffy walked over to open Giles' weapons trunk and removed from it a cross, a bottle of holy water and three stakes. She gave a stake and the cross to Xander, and then put everything else in her bag.  
  
"Anyone else wanna come?" Buffy asked, Willow replied by shaking her head and Giles with his eyes fixed in a book went hmm… "Looks like it just you and me!"  
  
"Hmm" Giles looked up this time. "Oh and be careful they not be as old as Spike, but who knows what they are, or were like in their former life."  
  
"See ya." Said Xander casually like they were just going to the Bronze and not off to fight some blood sucking fiends.  
  
  
  
Xander arrived with Buffy at the abandoned house, the windows were boarded up and grass reached the windows. It was only an hour till sunset then who ever were in there would be leaving for something to eat. Buffy peered between two of the wooden planks blocking the daylight.  
  
"Anyone there?" whispered Xander.  
  
"No I don't think so, they're probably upstairs somewhere." Buffy was disappointed if they had been by the door; she could have kicked it down. Letting the light shine on their exposed undead bodies. Buffy kicked the door, so it opened but didn't make a load enough noise to wake the inhabitants up. Buffy took Mr Pointy out of her bag; it wasn't going to be much use in there. Xander clenched the cross in his right hand and the stake in his left. There was no sign of vampires in any of the downstairs rooms, but then again the basement door was locked. Buffy found that no problem, and the door opened; there was a stench in the air. It didn't take long to find out why; dead bodies don't tend to stay fresh, thats if you just leave them around.  
  
"It's vampires." Xander stated the obvious, and then Buffy shut the door very quickly to keep the foul smell in the basement. They walked up the stairs there were three doors, Buffy chose the one in centre for no reason. She opened the door and it didn't creek eerily, but the content of the room was interesting. There were six vampires, two females and four males. The female vampires seemed to match the description Willow had given her. Lucky me thought Buffy.  
  
"Xander" she whispered "Tried to get the planks of the windows." He nodded. The room was quite small there wasn't much room to move between vampires and he worried that he would trip over one of them. They were just sleeping on the floor; no beds not even a duvet. He walked between two of the male vampires, with the brown haired female vampire at his feet. That was the problem. She grabbed his ankles and an unbalanced Xander fell to the floor with a load thud. The thud woke up the male vampires and he was lying between them. His neck at their mouths and they growled at him for disturbing their slumber. He tried to get up, but the vamp at his feet wouldn't let go. He tossed over to lie on his back he could she her face and her hungry smile. Xander did the first thing that came to his head and kicked her in the face. Reacting she let go and clenched her face in pain. Xander may have got back on his feet but the two vampires were also on theirs. The closest one grabbed from behind, while the second came close to his neck. Xander tucked in his legs and kicked it away with both his feet.  
  
"Buffy!" She knew he was in trouble and staked the vampire which held him.  
  
"One down five to go." All the vampires were know a wake and were staring at the slayer and her friend.  
  
"Mmm… breakfast in bed." The newly a woken vampire said licking his fangs. Buffy took out her favourite stake Mr Pointy ready for the attack, the first vampire pounced and landed right on it, useful. The vampires came right at them, hungry for the first feed of the night. The two vampires that Xander had kicked came after him, but were greeted with holy water in the face.  
  
"My face, again!" called the vampire. Xander watched their face for a second then realised there were more important things to be done. He headed to the window and started to take the planks off. They were on tight he would have to put all his strength in to it. He stared Buffy, who was busy turning her vampires into a bloody pulp on the floor; the stake made contact with the males' heart and he quickly turned into a pile of dust. The red headed female came at her next and was able to knock Mr Pointy out of her hand. Buffy was left with no weapon and had to rely on her fists. Xander stopped trying to let the light in and looked though Buffys' bag of tricks. The other vampires looked angrier now and they came at him, but he was quick enough to get the cross out. Seeing the religious sign they hesitated. With one hand in the bag and the other holding the cross, he was able to find a stake for Buffy. Xander was also curious where his stake had got. He tossed her the stake; she stopped fighting for a second to grab. With one quick motion she drove the stake in to the vampires' heart and watched her explode into dust. It was time to help Xander with his two problems. She kicked one and was happy with the satisfying crack, which indicated a broken jaw. He fell to the floor and turned to dust. Buffy and the other vampire was confused.  
  
"Oh that's where it went." Said Xander. One vampire left and she knew she was on her own. "Wanna do the honours." Buffy smiled.  
  
"Thankyou." The strange thing was the vampire was also smiling and wasn't heading towards the open door. Buffy walked over and picked up Mr Pointy, who she had lost earlier. She heard noises coming a long the corridor.  
  
"What's going on in here?"  
  
"Yeah some of us are trying to sleep." Around twelve vampires walked in, and then there was the one already in the room. Thirteen was unlucky for some, in this case Buffy and Xander. Xander whispered in Buffys ear.  
  
"Oh yeah." She walked back a few steps and pulled off the planks easily. It was embarrassing that he had been putting all his strength into it with no success and then with a flick of the wrist she had succeeded. That wasn't the point though, there was no one here to laugh at him and there was a gang of hungry vampires heading toward him. The last light of the day beamed in through the window. The female vampire that had grabbed his ankles before went up in a fury of flames.  
  
"Arghhhhh!" Another vampires arm caught fire, he quickly bust into flames, with no water to put it out. A few backed off into the hallway and the others made their way up the shaded side of the room. They were pissed off with the intruders. A vampire chest caught the daylight, as the flames crawled all over his body he grabbed onto another fellow vampires, setting him a light as well.  
  
"Come on Xander out the window quick." Buffy chucked her bag and Xander out of the window. The vampires were near her and grabbing.  
  
"Hey watch those hands boys." She climbed on to the windowsill "Well my jobs done, see ya!" She jumped out of the window and landed softly on her feet. One vampire was stupid enough to run to the window to curse at her, but it's no use when you're big pile of dust.  
  
"Ow, did you have to throw me out of the window as well?" Xander clambered onto his feet.  
  
"Time was short and it was kinda fun." Buffy smiled "Sorry Xander, I promise not to do it again."  
  
"Thankyou."  
  
"This week." She mumbled to herself.  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"Oh, I think we should be getting back to Giles', the sun will be down soon and those vampires aren't exactly gonna greet us as friends."  
  
"Hey that didn't fit into what you said before." They began to walk off.  
  
"Well that's because before I said let's go."  
  
"You just keep saying that to yourself."  
  
"I thought I threw you so you'd land on my bag."  
  
"Yes and that was another problem, what do you keep in their?" he groaned.  
  
"Oh, yeah, umm… sorry about that."  
  
  
  
"Spikey." Asked Naomi  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Is there a magic shop near by?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Can you take me there?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Can we go now?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So shouldn't we be going?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
  
  
The Bronze, home to all those teens that wanted something to do on a Friday night. In Sunnydale though it was only place, wait the only decent place to go for those too young to drink alcohol or didn't look twenty-one. Buffy, Willow and Xander were nearly there, Dingoes Ate My Baby was on and Willow was set on drool mode.  
  
"Isn't Anya coming?" Asked Buffy "Not like we wouldn't miss her or anything."  
  
"Yes, she's meeting us at the…" Xander paused. " Did you hear something?"  
  
"Was it calling your name again?" Asked Willow  
  
"I think so," Xander considered the fact that he was going crazy "but they're dust aren't they?"  
  
"Xander." There it was again.  
  
"Yeah, I heard it." They all stood still to try hear where the sound was coming from.  
  
"Xander!" it was coming from behind them "Wait up!" It was just Anya who was now running trying to catch up with the gang.  
  
"Shit your pants for nothing Xand?" Buffy smirked.  
  
"Ha very funny." He called over to Anya "I thought we were meeting up at the Bronze."  
  
"Well I saw you in the distance didn't I, I've been shouting at you for ages why didn't you hear me straight away?"  
  
"Sorry I don't have super hearing?"  
  
"I'll forgive you this time." She and Xander snogged and she was happy.  
  
"Hey maybe you could get a Xander whistle, that way only he can hear it." Buffy suggested.  
  
They approached the Bronze as usual they were letting anyone in as long as they were there with two bucks. There was a queue to get in and hopefully it meant that the Dingoes popularity was increasing ever still.  
  
"Xander, I've left my purse at home can you pay for me?" Anya kissed him to seal the deal.  
  
"I was going to anyway, but now I definitely will." Xander grinned. Buffy was never to keen on Anya it was that whole nearly getting lots of people killed, so that she could have her powers back thing. Tonight though she was acting a bit different, maybe it was PMT or maybe she was just being strange Anya, stranger Anya. Anya was just like Cordelia with the lack of the tact and being annoying, except in an ex-demon way. Once inside Willow made her way to find the closest table to the stage, so she had a good view of Oz playing the guitar. Xander went to get the drinks; everyone wanted the same fizzy drinks, so he didn't have to try to remember all the different drinks. The Dingoes started to play it was a new song, written by Oz and dedicated to Willow- isn't that sweet. Something was irritating Anya and Xander could tell.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked even though he already knew something was wrong.  
  
"I've got a bit of a head ache could we go outside, maybe?" Anya asked. Xander nodded, as he really knew what she was hinting at and it wasn't anything he would dislike. He still informed the rest of the group, even though he knew that they knew what he and Anya were probably going to get up to on their little walk to the park.  
  
The queue outside the bronze had gone down a lot since they had been inside, probably most of Sunnydales young adult population was in there. They were going to go to the park, which was only about a five-minute walk. There wasn't much town to walk around, so you got to anywhere pretty quick. He hadn't brought his car with him tonight otherwise he would of picked up Anya on the way there. It was just too nice a night to travel in a car, and his car was too broken down to transport anyone anywhere. Of course Xander was too broke to afford to fix it, maybe he could lend Uncle Rorys' car sometime. They arrived at the park soon enough; he put his arm around her and looked around. The park seemed to empty no one there but them, all alone no one to disturb them.  
  
  
  
"See that girl over there, dancing near Oz."  
  
"She's on dance floor Will, he's on the stage. Paranoid much?" asked Buffy.  
  
"No I mean look at her, does she look alive? Hey I think she's drooling over him!" Willow pointed angrily at the girl drooling over her boyfriends only she was allowed to do that.  
  
"Three things Will, it rude to point, I think your paranoid, she's not drooling over your man and I too think she's a vampire." The way too pale skin was a big give away.  
  
"That's four things."  
  
"Oh, umm… count the middle two as one."  
  
"Okay, but strange person looking at Oz."  
  
The new girl stuck out from the crowd; her hair was blue and purple, not something you see everyday in Sunnydale. Except for on Oz, who was too looking at the girl with blue hair and smiling. He'd found his hair mate, but hopefully for Willow the mystery girl was going to be on the receiving end of a pointy stick. The clothes she wearing was kind of wild as well, a sort of Goth meets hippie chick with a clash of biker girl. She was wearing biker boots, a bodes dress and a pair of blue round sunglasses. Oh yeah she was leaving with some guy.  
  
"Gotta go."  
  
"Okay, see ya in a minute." Willow sipped her drink and continued to stare mindlessly at Oz.  
  
Buffy walked through the crowd of teenagers dancing, chatting or just sitting with friends. She made her way quickly to the exit, there was no queue now, and no one else was coming in tonight. The Bronze was full. All was quiet; there was no noise anywhere, which could help her to find where the vampire had gone. No sign of the struggle, but Buffy continued to look. There it was, something metal had fallen over, probably a bin. She found herself heading towards the sounds, it was just around the corner and she was thinking of something cool to say.  
  
"Get a room." It wasn't exactly original and it was a little crude, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. She could have said, "be gone foul demon", but that was just stupid. Buffy approached the vampire; she clenched her stake in her fist ready for the kill. They turned around wondering who it was,  
  
"Spike?" She managed to stop herself from staking him, even though she was at full power.  
  
"Buffy, can't you see I'm busy." He tilted his head towards the girl to give Buffy a big hint.  
  
"Oh I didn't did I give you permission to leave the house young man and with this girl, tell me is she undead or alive?"  
  
The strange girl put on her game face, but didn't attack Buffy like most vampires had done in the past. This creeped her out in away that she would of guessed. Spike on a date I thought he was still pining for Drusilla or maybe this vampire is just rebound. Maybe I should warn her what a complete moron he is, hang why am I thinking this I should be saying it out loud.  
  
"You do know that Spike's impotent." Buffy smiled, now that should of hit the heart dead centre.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Oh I know about his little feeding problem, but I definitely do know that all his well down below."  
  
"Uuwww, way to much information."  
  
"Now leave us." She spoke again, but Buffy just stood their still disgusted. "Is she deaf or just stupid? Go away!"  
  
"You're going to listen to my hey. Spike, you do realise that your next date is going to be a big pile of dust."  
  
"Buffy don't be hasty, why don't you just go back to the those morons you call friends while I finish my date."  
  
Buffy felt slightly awkward, she knew that she should be staking little miss freaky, but she was with Spike. No matter how annoying Buffy found him, the gang still needed him as their main way of getting information resources.  
  
"She's staring at me, I don't like it I mean it's not as if I can hurt anyone."  
  
"What?" asked Buffy.  
  
"Well I escaped from the Initiative, but ever since then I can't seem to hurt anything without getting this really bad main in my head. I would go see a doctor, but I'd just get hungry."  
  
"That's a problem…" Before Buffy could finish she heard a scream in the distance "…but I have more important business to attend to, gotta go." She ran off into the night and headed to the alley at the otherside of the Bronze. She got there quickly and saw a girl with a vampire biting her neck.  
  
"Oh so this is where you got to honey, I've been looking everywhere for you and here you are with another woman." Buffy tutted and the vampires yellow eyes meet with Buffys' stake. He dropped the girl who fell to the floor holding her hand to her wound. He tried to run but Buffy blocked his only exit, so the vampire attempted to pounce on her. Buffy grabbed him in full flight and chucked him over her head. He landed with a loud thump, as he lay on the ground in pain. That wasn't enough to kill him only a stake to his cold heart would do. She ran to him lifted her stake and imbedded it in his chest, soon afterwards he exploded into a cloud of dust.  
  
"Nobody cheats on me. Are you okay?" Buffy asked the vampires' victim.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine, but what was that?"  
  
"It was a gang member on PCP," she gave the main excuse going for a vampire attack "You might wanna get a plaster on that and maybe walk home with a friend."  
  
"Okay." The girl was dazed and confused, but she still strolled slowly into the busy Bronze to find someone she knew.  
  
Buffy walked back to the alley where Spike and his girl had been, but like she expected they had disappeared. She hoped that the story had been told by Spike strange date was true but she doubted it. Her steps lead her back to Willow sitting at their table.  
  
"Is she dust?"  
  
"No, she was Spike date and an emergency with another vampire came up, so I had to go and save someone's life, again."  
  
"Oh, but the good news is the girls with Spike and not my Oz."  
  
"Who's not with me?" The Dingoes were having a ten-minute break and Oz had come to see Willow.  
  
"The girl who was staring at you."  
  
"The one with blue hair?"  
  
"Were you noticing back?" asked Willow  
  
"No it just someone else with blue hair and in this place it's pretty hard not to notice it."  
  
"Hi, where's Xander? I was meant to meet him here, but I can't find him anywhere, has he stood me up?"  
  
Everyone gave Anya a strange look and then they all got a bad feeling.  
  
"Anya, Xander left with you about a while go and you went to the park to get on with the smooches." Buffy filled Anya in.  
  
"No I didn't, I think I would notice that kind of thing."  
  
"Oh my God Xander, he's out there with something else, we have to go right now to the park."  
  
"Which park Buffy?" Willow raised a good point there were four in Sunnydale and by the time they had visited them all Xander could be hurt or even worse, dead.  
  
"We always go to Weatherly Park, it's never as busy as the others."  
  
"Take my van, I don't think I could explain it to the guys."  
  
"Okay." Buffy grabbed the keys and they all stormed to the outside of the Bronze where Oz's van and Giles was.  
  
"Giles get into the van, I tell you along the way."  
  
"And I've got something to tell you…where's Xander?"  
  
"Exactly what we want to know." 


	3. Chapter Three

Authors note: I wanted to make some changes to this chapter and that's why it wasn't up yesterday if anyone was wondering. Was anyone wondering? It would be nice if someone cared.  
  
  
  
Xander strolled though the park, hand in hand with Anya. They kissed affectionately. It was nice and peaceful with it being just them. The Bronze was fun but sometimes it was nice when it was just the two of them.  
  
"Xander, I want you to be with me for eternity." They stopped walking and Xander starred at her.  
  
"What? Don't you think…" he paused, he was clueless about what his answer should be "…well it's a bit…" argggghhhhh! "…Are you feeling alright?"  
  
"I've never felt better and why should I feel ill, it's a bit hard for someone like me."  
  
"Huh?" Xander had no clue, whatsoever about what Anya was going on about.  
  
"You know what I talking about or do you need another clue?" Anya grabbed Xander and brought him closer for a snog. Something changed while they kissed; it was as if Anya had changed. Xander pulled away.  
  
"Anya." He looked at her, but instead he saw the features of stranger. "Who are you?" The girl morphed her face again this time into a vampires' face.  
  
"I don't know why you kept calling me Anya, you should of known it wasn't her if you were really meant to be together."  
  
"I see someone who looks like her, I usually assume its her, who are you?" His girlfriend had short wavy blond hair, well the hair was still short but this girl was a brunette.  
  
She brought him close again and whispered into his ear "Anna." Anna began to nibble his ear.  
  
"Ewww…stop that." This time he couldn't pull away from her. Anna pushed him away though, hard onto the ground and it hurt a lot as the pain shot up his spine. She stood right above him.  
  
"I'm giving you a once in a life time opportunity." The vampire sat down on the ground with him and grabbed him by the collar, forcing his neck to tilt to the side.  
  
"I not going to take you up on your offer." He told her with the most confident voice he could manage in this situation. He knew his plea would change nothing, so he decided to say something a bit more useful. "Help!"  
  
"Sorry there's no backing out now." Her evil smile made him feel nervous and in a blink of an eye the fangs were on the verge of breaking the skin.  
  
Bang! Anna fell away from the relieved Xander, he turned around expecting to see Buffy, but yet again his eyes fell upon a stranger. The girl stood there posed in a similar fighting stance to Buffy. She held a stake in one hand and the other was a clenched fist.  
  
"Another slayer?" Xander couldn't believe his eyes. He starred up at this girl who had just saved his life. She wasn't as tall as Anna as she stood up to fight her opponent. The girl had blond hair, which was mainly straight but it curled at the bottom. She didn't have a strong muscular body structure so he had assumed that she might have slayer strength.  
  
"Piss off would ya? I'm busy here!" shouted Anna.  
  
"Not too busy for another fight I hope?" They obviously knew each other and he could tell straight away that they were just the best of buds.  
  
"Duh, of course I am, have you seen this guy?" She pointed at him, and Xander in a strange way felt complimented. He just wished that he had heard it under the current circumstances.  
  
The new slayer loosened her tight fist and put it in her pocket from it a big bottle of holy water was produced. She twisted the lid and was ready to open it and throw it at the vampire.  
  
"Shit." Said Anna and ran away as she had never been a fan of holy water. The girl was about to chase after Anna when she heard.  
  
"Shit." It was another vampire; Naomi I presume and she ran in another direction. The girl stood there for a second considering which vampire to chase after.  
  
"Shit." Said the pissed off girl who came towards Xander and kissed him. It was a split second decision to go after Naomi, but the cute brown eyed and dark haired lad interrupted her.  
  
"Shit that was good, what was that for?" Xander was confused  
  
"You were just staring I thought something was wrong with you. Shit they're getting away." The girl ran off after Naomi. Xander hadn't realised that he had just been starring as if he was in a trance, he also hoped he hadn't been drooling. He wiped his lip to make sure and found that he had been lucky.  
  
"Shit." Said Anya, as she looked very hurt at Xander. She had caught him kissing then staring at the girl. That was never good news for a boyfriend.  
  
"Shit." Said Xander again. Buffy said shit as well, then a few minutes later when Willow arrived she said,  
  
"Shit."  
  
"Why did you say it, you've just arrived?" asked Buffy.  
  
"I didn't want to left out." Willow replied. "Xander are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess, but Anya I didn't realise it wasn't you." It was time for the petty excuses.  
  
"Why not and you were kissing her like you kiss me." Anya looked even more hurt. "What have you got to say for yourself?"  
  
"Monkey see, monkey do." It was the first thing that had come to his head; maybe it wasn't the best thing to say. "You can't blame me for that slayer girl kissing me either, she only did it, because she thought I was in some sort of trance."  
  
"You kissed another girl, who didn't look anything like me." Anya went off in a mood "Don't follow me I need time to think about if your getting it anymore!" Xander knew he was best to give her some time; it was no use talking to her when she was like that.  
  
"What slayer girl?" Buffy was very curious.  
  
"She saved me, Anna was about to bite me, when she came in from no-where." He would have said he remembered it just like yesterday but it was less then five minutes go.  
  
"Another slayer, Faith isn't dead and last time I checked I'm not dead either." Buffy was fed up with all these slayers turning up and trying to do her job.  
  
"I can explain." It was Giles who had been lurking in background "That's who I needed to tell you about. Her name is Shannon and she's British like me."  
  
"Born in Britain, English by God given right." It was Shannon. "I couldn't find Naomi she got away again."  
  
"So you're Shannon," Buffy looked at the new face, "look maybe we should go somewhere and talk about this."  
  
"My place isn't too far away, we'll go back there for some tea to warm us up." Said Giles as they began to walk back.  
  
"Does it have to be tea, I didn't it like it then and I don't like it now." Shannon told Giles.  
  
Xander raised an eyebrow "Wow someone from England doesn't like tea, I am truly shocked and my stereotypical views are ruined!"  
  
Shannon just gave him a funny look and turned away. "So what do you drink then?"  
  
"Coke and lots of it!" she replied "You have got some haven't you Giles?"  
  
"No, but I've got some hot chocolate in."  
  
"Mmm… chocolate, why didn't you tell me about this supply?" Buffy was disappointed that there had been a secret supply of chocolate and she hadn't been informed, while she had been stuck drinking tea. They all climbed into Oz's van.  
  
"Hey how we gonna give Oz his van back?" Willow inquired.  
  
  
  
Inside of Giles' condo everyone had the newly discovered supply of hot chocolate, except for Giles who was drinking his soothing tea.  
  
"How come you're a slayer?" Xander finally asked the question that everyone was wondering about. There was no point being polite about it or subtle. It was going to come up any way.  
  
"I'm not a slayer, I prefer the term vampire hunter." Slayer sounded so chosen one.  
  
"Yes, you were meant to become a watcher and start studying when we told you about your true destiny."  
  
"I didn't want to be a watcher, when you told me about the chosen one, now that job sounded cool. Kicking some undead butt. Dad didn't mind, so I had parental permission." She never needed parental permission it wasn't as if you filled out a form to kill vampires. Shannon would have done it anyway.  
  
"You know Shannon's dad?" Buffy asked Giles.  
  
"Yes he was one of my friends at Oxford, while I was going through my teenage rebellion period." Ah the memories.  
  
"You said you've fought with Anna before." Xander remembered her say it.  
  
"Ah –ha, she's was my friend and so was Naomi, before they became vampires and I had to stop them."  
  
"You're doing such a good as well." Buffy said sarcastically.  
  
"HEY, that's my job to be a sarcastic." It was Shannon who said it not Xander.  
  
"Trust me, she is the sarcasm queen." Giles informed the gang.  
  
"Thankyou Giles. They only been vampires for a short time, but it didn't take them long to climb up the ranks of the undead chain. Anna always been weird, kinda crazy, but tries hard to get what ever she wants." Shannon looked at Xander who wasn't too happy with that fact. "Naomi knew about the truth and had been practising witchcraft for a few years." That fact would of interested Willow, but she had gone back to the Bronze to her Oz. "I haven't known her a s long as Anna and Lynette though, Anna has known her for years they lived near each other."  
  
"Who's Lynette?" wondered Xander.  
  
"You haven't met Lynette yet, she too is a vampire, probably hasn't come here yet, because there's a car coming from London." Everyone gave her a strange look not understanding the joke "Old joke about crossing the road, I would run across, Anna would walk across the road, when the car was close. Then Lynette would wait for ages till there was no car in sight for miles. It describes our personalities quite well."  
  
"Have you lost all your friends to vampires?" That was Buffys worse nightmare she would hate to see her friends undead. It would be her job to kill them.  
  
"Yes and I'm just so happy about it!" Yet again Shannon received strange looks from everyone "I was being sarcastic, and you say we Brits are uptight." Shannon said in a posh accent.  
  
"I told you she was sarcastic."  
  
"No really, I wouldn't have guessed." Xander joined with the sarcasm.  
  
"Okay can we stop with the sarcasm?"  
  
"Actually Giles I thought we talk this way all day." Shannon continued.  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Okay. More information on my three friends, you know that's really depressing. I have three friends and they're all undead. Oh well.  
  
"As you may already know Anna and Naomi were the first to be turned and reeked havoc in Prestatyn."  
  
"Where?" asked Xander.  
  
"It's in Wales."  
  
"Oh, where?"  
  
"Xander, I'll give you some advise never say that in front of Anna, she'll kill you. Wait she'll kill you and leave you dead. She's quite the Welsh person; she found unsuspecting Americans on the Internet and gave them a geography lesson. I wonder if she's doing it much now she's here.  
  
"Okay where was I? They decided that they wanted all their friends to be vampires like them, so they found Lynette and turned into a vampire. They also killed everyone who annoyed her. There was this really funny occasion when Anna and Naomi came into school with a rocket launcher in the winter, so it was over cast and already quite dark. Well they were aiming at this teacher in our school who keeps giving out homework and coursework at every opportunity. I was in that day, lucky me, so I was able to stop them.  
  
"One problem though as I got the rocket launcher off them I accidentally pulled the trigger and it was lift off. The rocket it hit co-ordinate dead on target and was blown to smithereens. The funny side was I stopped her from giving out a class more coursework." Shannon laughed.  
  
"Um… isn't that a bad thing to do?" asked Buffy.  
  
"No, would you lot quit with the strange looks, you look worse then Anna, who can't give people evil looks, if you're wondering why I said you lot looked like her."  
  
"She wasn't too bad at giving me an evil look before." Said Xander  
  
"Of course she's good at it with her game face on. Duh!"  
  
"Shannon you do realise that you blew up a teacher and you have no repercussions about it." Giles was worried that they may be having another Faith case.  
  
"Well I never really liked the bitch, I mean she hated me for no reason, other than the fact I did no work and talked though her lessons. I think it was because she was some evil glue sticky kind of demon."  
  
"Oh in that case it changes everything. How did you know?"  
  
"I had gone to school that day to deal with her and I'm not letting those vamps get to do what I've always wanted to do. Oh and it was really had to get all those sticky bits off the floor."  
  
Buffy spoke before Shannon could say something else. "It's getting pretty late and I want to do one more sweep of the town to see if there's any trace of Anna and Naomi. Xander you want me to walk you home."  
  
"Yes I'm not capable of walking on my own."  
  
"Hey you are good at being sarcastic, maybe you could be my sarcastic king. Anyway if Anna is out for you I suggest you don't stay alone at night. Actually I just had a great idea why don't I come stay at your house just to make sure you're okay."  
  
"In my room? My gloomy, dark and lonely basement. Okay that's fine with me." Xander smiled, Buffy knew that maybe Shannon staying at his place wouldn't be great for his male hormones.  
  
"I agree." Giles nodded "Remember they obviously know some kind of transformation spell, so they could be anyone at night."  
  
  
  
Naomi and Anna walked into Spikes' chamber and slammed the door behind them. They stomped around the crypt to show that they were mad.  
  
"I can't believe she's here already, what is she stalker girl or something. I'm totally pissed off with her, I say we kill her tomorrow." Several plans were already forming in Naomi's mind.  
  
"Naomi, you're not thinking with your brain again, she may not be the slayer, but she knows us very well. Both our strengths and weaknesses. I have an idea, but we gonna need another set of hands."  
  
"Will mine do?" A girl stood at Spike door, she was tall with long, twisting brown hair. She wore a long denim skirt, a plain black sleeveless top and a laced black poncho.  
  
"Lynette here already? I thought it would be about another week." Naomi smirked.  
  
"Boat got here faster than I thought, hey, just because I'm not psycho enough to take my chances on a plane." She walked into the dusty crypt.  
  
"FYI, I planned out those flights perfectly, leaving just after sunset and arriving just before sunrise, with a enough time to find shelter. Then I scrapped that plan and stole a private jet and a captain. Ha! You had to leave earlier as well if I remember correctly."  
  
"Well I got a chance to travel to LA and I saw the most gorgeous man ever. The problem is he's that vampire with a soul and that junk. I can't think of his name, damn it's gonna bug me for at least a week."  
  
"Oh that's just great it's gonna annoy me as well." Naomi tossed her arms in the air, then brought them back down put them on her hips and smiled "Spike you're back, the sun will be up soon, I was getting worried."  
  
Spike walked into his home, his eyes were fixed upon the third female who was new to him. She stared back and a smile appeared on her face.  
  
"Hello Spike, you must be the one Dru was talking about."  
  
"And you are?" Another stranger that Drusilla had been kind enough to give his details to.  
  
"This is our friend Lynette, she had to be annoying and come by boat to Sunnydale." Explained Anna.  
  
"Oh and how come you weren't mentioned before?"  
  
"You didn't ask us before if there was anymore of us." Anna explained once again.  
  
"Is she possible of answering her own questions?"  
  
"Is she, is she really?" Anna knew that would annoy the others.  
  
"She is capable of talking, if Anna gives her a chance." Lynette finally spoke to Spike for the first time. She then got in touch with her childish side and pulled a tongue at Anna.  
  
"Somehow I thought you'd be slightly different, but that's good, you're cuter than I thought you would be and I love the accent."  
  
"Are you flirting with me?" asked Spike, he liked how he had three females all flirting with him. Made him feel all manly.  
  
"Yes Lynette, are you flirting with Spike?" Naomi raised her eyebrow.  
  
"Whatever gave you that idea I was just talking to Spike here, I was complimenting him, is there anything wrong with that?" Lynette winked at Spike but turned her head so that Naomi wouldn't see it and complain more. Spike shifted the shape of his smile into a slight smirk.  
  
  
  
"So this is your pad?" Shannon tried not to giggle, "Nice disco ball though."  
  
"Hey!" Xander smiled "Where do you want to sleep?"  
  
"I'm bed, you're couch, unless you want to come on the bed with me?" she said whilst sitting on the bed running her hand along the sheet.  
  
"Urrr…no, not like I wouldn't, it's just I shouldn't, can't even. You shouldn't feel insulted you're pretty, but wait let me re-think though my bumbling." Shannon could see that Xanders cheeks were blushing slightly.  
  
"So you think I'm pretty?" Shannon smiled, twirled her hair and bit her lip. She was so going to milk for compliments.  
  
"Well yeah you are, but I'm going through a kinda rough patch with my girlfriend Anya and now you're here." When Xander was close enough to her, she grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him on to the bed.  
  
"When I first saw you I thought you were cute." Shannon went down onto the bed with him and began to nibble his ear.  
  
"You aren't by any chance under some sort of love spell?"  
  
"No, I just think you're cute, do you have a leather jacket by any chance?" Looking at his wardrobe.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I have a theory that cute guys look very sexy in leather jacket."  
  
"Kinky." Shannon began to undo Xanders belt.  
  
"You're a very strange person Shannon, you know that."  
  
"Yes, does it bother you?"  
  
"No, kinky." Shannon and Xander began to snog; everything around him seemed to fade.  
  
"Shannon." Xander realised that his lips were against the pillow and there was a strange taste in his mouth. He was on the couch and Shannon was on the bed giving him strange looks for a change.  
  
"What? Will you stop saying my name!" She didn't sound too happy with him.  
  
"Huh?" Xander couldn't believe what he had been doing and he brain was too busy from recovering from waking up to process all the information.  
  
"It's 5 o'clock in the morning Xander."  
  
"5 o'clock, I'll never be able to get back…" Xander fell asleep again before his head even hit the pillow.  
  
"That was great!" said Shannon.  
  
"Of course it was! You were with me." Xander stretched out his arms and put one around Shannon.  
  
"Someone's very modest today." She looked up at him and kissed him passionately. They stopped for a second, then she roll on top of him and their lips met once again.  
  
"Xander, how could you?" Anya had suddenly appeared in the room, right in front of them.  
  
"She didn't mean anything to me, I was upset, I was thinking of you." Xander couldn't stop all the lame excuses from coming out of his mouth. He tried to cover mouth with his hand, but his lips continued to move.  
  
"So our passionate night of love meant nothing to you! How could you say those things?" Shannon filled with anger.  
  
"I don't know it was like my mouth wasn't connected to my brain."  
  
"Oh and like that makes a difference from usual."  
  
"Anya that was harsh." Xander looked sad with his puppy dog eyes.  
  
"For that I'm becoming a vengeance demon again." Anya turned around and became the veiny-faced demon once again. Xander looked at Shannon who wore a necklace with a blue cross on it.  
  
"Care to make a wish."  
  
"Yeah, I wish we'd go 16th century on his arse."  
  
"You're going to chop off my head?"  
  
"No way that's too quick." Said Shannon with an evil grin on her face.  
  
There was a flash of light. Xander saw Anya and Shannon wearing long blood red dressing, which looked very sexy on them, but Xander knew that that wasn't the point. The point was the large flaming torch, which was in Shannons' hands. He suddenly noticed that his bed was now a large pile of longs and broken wood. He was standing on top of it, tied to a large stake. Oh 16th Century. He also wondered why he hadn't noticed that he was tied to a rather large stake before. In the back of his head he could hear a slight sound of screaming.  
  
"It's time." Shannon lit the wood and quickly the flames spread. The screaming in his head got loader. He also heard more laughing in the background.  
  
Xander first saw Willow and Buffy both wearing red come and join Anya and Shannon. Next he noticed Anna, Naomi, and Cordelia again in red join the laughing crowd. What is the obsession with red? He wasn't sure, but he might have also seen Faith, Drusilla and Ampata walking towards the other females. It was getting too hot to concentrate.  
  
"Isn't this a little too severe?"  
  
"No." Shouted all the females who at least had to stop laughing for a second to say no.  
  
"Hot, ouch hot." He was trying to blow out the flames with the little air that came from his mouth.  
  
"Hot."  
  
"Sorry Xander, I didn't mean too spill hot chocolate on you." Shannon was starring at him, with a mug in her hand. "Would you like one the water in the kettle still warm? You know your kettle is really loud when boiling, I thought that would wake you up."  
  
"No thanks. Ur…what time is it?"  
  
"Nearly ten, which I prefer to five." Shannon sat down on a chair near him.  
  
"Have you had anything for breakfast yet?" He was hankering for a couple of bowls of cereal.  
  
"There's no food here and I didn't want to go upstairs."  
  
"Don't worry my parents barely notice me. I doubt they'll notice you." He never had to sneak through his window after a late night patrolling with Buffy or at the Bronze. He would just walk through the front door with no questions asked.  
  
"Am I meant to take that seriously or was it meant to be some sort of insult?"  
  
Xander didn't look like he was telling a joke "It's just that a mysterious female just walks into the kitchen after a night in their sons' room, it quite suspicious if you ask me."  
  
"Nothing happened, why would they be suspicious of me and you, we did nothing, absolutely nothing."  
  
"Yes, I did notice that nothing happened, I was there when nothing happened."  
  
Well done you're Xander playing it so cool. He couldn't stop thinking about his dream and wondering what it all meant. He did consider that it was just a load of bullshit brought on by yesterday. He also knew though that some of things he said to Shannon he had actually meant. Xander always had a thing about Slayers and even though Shannon was a vampire hunter it was on the same lines. She was twirling her hair just like she had done in his dream and just before they had made love. Another thing had surprised him. How well he remembered his dream, normally he would forget it within the first minute of waking up. Maybe it was because of the kind of dream it had been. Kinky. Xander hadn't had a dream like that ever since his huge crush on Buffy a few years ago; but then again he'd never had quite the same as the one with Shannon. Even though his relationship with Cordelia he had never once had a sex dream about her, those involved her undressing him and changing his style. Well maybe it had sort of been one. What was his dream trying to tell him, that he should be with Shannon or that he shouldn't ever cheat on Anya or he would have to suffer the consequences. He didn't actually believe that Anya would burn him at the stake; then again it was Anya ex-vengeance demon for all women kind.  
  
"Xander, do you wanna have fun?" asked Shannon.  
  
Xander quickly turned around to Shannon face; with his eyes wide open from his misconception of the question.  
  
"What, what do you mean exactly?" He lifted up his arm and scratched the back of his head. Trying to play it cool.  
  
"You live here, you know what is there to do in the town and I get bored easily. What did you think I meant, have sex?" Shannon raised an eyebrow, while Xander did a lame fake laugh.  
  
"No of course not, why would I think that?" He realised he'd better stop before he dug an even deeper hole. "We could go to the cinema."  
  
"Yeah I guess, but I only have five dollars left and I have no idea about currency. I really don't know the value of a dollar."  
  
"Let me pay, it's the least I could do after you saved my life."  
  
"Fine and I'll let you pay for popcorn and a coke."  
  
"I'm that nice."  
  
"Yeah you're so nice, this can be counted as a date."  
  
"What?" This girl was going way to fast for him and so early in the morning.  
  
"I wonder what's on and good you guys are a few months ahead."  
  
  
  
Buffy and Willow were strolling through the shopping centre. There had been a sale on at a few of the fashion stores, which was lucky for them and they were having cash flow problems.  
  
"Want to go somewhere to eat soon?" Willow asked Buffy.  
  
"Yeah, but I think all I can afford is a kiddie meal."  
  
"Don't worry I'm looking at the same option myself, but look at the bright side. We'll get a free toy; I hope I get one of those cute little animal stuff toy things. All I need is a lobster, a bear and a spotted dog."  
  
"Willow have you got an obsession with those things?" She was sure she had seen Willow hide a secret collection of little collectable cute toys.  
  
"They're so cute what would you expect from me?" She had used her hands to express how tiny they were.  
  
"A less obsessed friend." Buffy told Willow.  
  
They walked into a fast food store, where luckily they found a short queue, but there were only a few seats left.  
  
"I'll get the food you get the seats," offered Buffy "What do you want?"  
  
"Just a kiddie burger, fries and coke please." Willow gave Buffy the money, then rushed over to the one of the limited places to sit. Buffy wasn't long getting the food and finding Willow.  
  
"So you found a seat, well done." Buffy placed the tray upon the table.  
  
"I had to kill a man for it." She had said the same thing to Oz but Buffy hadn't been there when she had made the joke. It was okay to tell the same joke twice.  
  
"Oh and where's the body?" Buffy whispered.  
  
"I sold it to the store, they're using it for tomorrows burgers."  
  
"Oh and ugh, we are not coming here tomorrow." There was a question, which Buffy had wanted to ask Willow all day, but wasn't quite sure if she should ask it, in case it came out wrong.  
  
"So…umm…what did you think of Shannon?"  
  
"Why are you jealous?"  
  
"See I knew you would say something like that, but I'm not sure why I should be jealous."  
  
"Because she chose to fight vampires and can quit whenever she wants, but it's your duty as the chosen to fight till the day you die." Willow thought over her answer and wished she had said it slightly differently. "She seemed nice although I didn't get much chance to speak to her. Anyone who saves Xander's life is in the good book with me though.  
  
"The strange is that according to her she's not beaten either of her friends yet she doesn't…well she's still alive and she's not even the slayer."  
  
"Hey maybe it's like in cartoons where the good guy always wins and the really evil people always lose but can't die, because they have to be there for the next episode. I think it's dumb luck."  
  
"Will, this is real life not some childrens' cartoon. I agree she did seem a nice person though she was a bit cocky and very sarcastic."  
  
"She's sarcastic?"  
  
"You'll see." Buffy slightly nodded her head.  
  
They sat there eating their food and slurping their drinks and didn't say another word until both the hungry friends had consumed all of their food and drink.  
  
"Come on we'll drop this stuff back in our room then head to Giles' to see if he's made any progress." Willow nodded her head to signal her agreement with Buffy. Buffy hoped that Giles had made any kind of improvement, but Giles was good at what he did and was also good at staying up at night to look for what they would need.  
  
  
  
Giles opened his door to find Willow and Buffy waiting outside, like usual they made their way in without permission. Though it wasn't like he would leave them outside it just he found it kind of rude. He wouldn't tell them that though because would just say that he was just being British. Giles also didn't want to disappoint them that if they were ever actually to go to Britain they wouldn't find millions of Giles all clad in tweed wandering the gloomy and smoke filled city of London. Sometimes he thought of asking Buffy if she knew another British City, but he feared she would answer him with England. There were a lot of stereotypical views of Britain like it was 'tea bag central' as Cordelia once put it. Then again everywhere was stereotyped as something.  
  
"Giles, what are you thinking about?" questioned Buffy.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Come back to Earth Giles we need you more." Willow joked while she knew she did really need him, because she couldn't understand the very thick Latin book, which was open on Giles' desk.  
  
"Good news I have found out something about the disguise spell Anna used to trick Xander. Where's Xander?" Xander never seemed to be with Willow and Buffy anymore.  
  
"He's with Shannon, I wonder what their up to. They seemed rather compatible last night. They could be sarcasm king and queen." Said Willow.  
  
"Can you imagine the wedding? Do you take this man blah de blah de blah, no really I'm here for the buffet." Buffy smiled proudly at her witty comment.  
  
"I've found the spell Anna used in this book here, do you recognise it Willow?" Giles passed the book to her.  
  
"No, I haven't quite got to this stage of magic yet, but it looks like it's kinda cool." Willow read some more of the spell " It's a bit like a glamour spell. Basically you take something of the one you love and then you can change your appearance to look like the person's ideal date or someone they are already dating. Hey maybe I could try this one day."  
  
"Why Willow someone you want to impress?" Buffy felt like she was asking a stupid question. Willow was madly in love with Oz. Willow wasn't looking to cheat on him or flirt with anyone else, Willow could never do a thing like that to Oz. Except for that one time last year when her and Xander had finally been seeing each other. The problem was that they had both been dating other people for even longer.  
  
"No it's just interesting." Willow had a quick flick through the book to have a look at the other spells in the book.  
  
"Anna probably got something when she was hanging around outside Xanders house trying to get him to invite her in. She may have not been able to go inside but that doesn't mean Xander has never left or dropped anything outside the house. " Buffy also had a look at the book "Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?"  
  
"One more thing, this spell can only be cast every twenty four hours, the only exception is that it can be used if you add the blood of a werewolf. Then you can change over the three nights."  
  
"Oz!" said Willow shaking her hands in the air.  
  
"Don't worry there's another week before the next full moon." Giles pointed out to the worried Willow.  
  
"And our new Welsh friends will be gone before that." Buffy was sure of herself. "They shouldn't be too hard to get rid of now they're facing the slayer."  
  
"Remember Buffy they're not bothered about you, which is strange for vampires, but also rather smart of them." Most vampires that came into town only had one thing on their minds and that was normally Buffy. It was strange that a vampire was after Xander though he did find himself in trouble quite a few times. There was also a time when Xander was the one causing trouble, not intentionally of course. He was just unlucky when it came to the Hellmouth, in a way it was picking on him. 


	4. Chapter Four

Shannon and Xander were walking through the park, just like he had been with Anya the night before. Except it hadn't been Anya, after he kissed her it had been the vampire Anna there ready to kill him. Xander found that he was still confused, he been going out with Anya for while even though he found her annoying. Another reason was that he saw a lot of Cordelia in Anya, because of their common lack of tact. He always disliked Cordelia including times when they were dating; still they went out with each other. He probably dated them because he saw more in them then just animal magnetism.  
  
Xander looked down and saw Shannon's hand. Something made him want to grab it so they would be a couple, but he didn't know if the feeling was mutual. He was having flashbacks of the good dream. He looked back up. It was another lovely night it Sunnydale, the air was warm, the sky only had a few clouds and a half moon was shining brightly. He couldn't see the stars properly due to the light pollution otherwise it would have been one of those perfect romantic nights that he had often seen in movies with Buffy and Willow. He would have preferred a horror film, but they got more than the standard amount in real life.  
  
"You're very quiet tonight." Shannon broke the silence.  
  
"I know, it's very strange for me maybe I've been possessed by a quiet person."  
  
"That's your problem not mine."  
  
"Ah but I may become so boring the silence may kill you. You could say I bored you to death." They both let out a small laugh before it went quiet again.  
  
"Look Xander I have something to tell you and what ever you do don't laugh or I may have to kill you." Shannon paused to take a deep breath "You're very cute, sweet and you are a funny guy and I thought so the first time I saw you. Well I didn't know you were funny cause you didn't tell any jokes, but you looked cute and sweet. This is the point where you laugh and I kill you."  
  
"You didn't tell a joke so I won't laugh unless you want me to now. It's kinda strange to be on the receiving end of this, normally that's what I say just before I ask a girl out."  
  
"That's why I like you, we're kinda like each other except for the obvious."  
  
"Yeah and the good news is I'm not too dumb to notice."  
  
"Ah bless ya, you're looking sweet again."  
  
"Do I have those big old puppy dog eyes?" Xander put his arms around Shannon.  
  
"No you have big old brown cute human eyes." Shannon stood up on her tiptoes and they kissed. Xander knew this time it wasn't a dream. He knew he should have stopped to tell her about Anya but he didn't want to spoil the moment.  
  
"Well, well, well wait till Anya finds out about this." It was Naomi who was standing there staring at them with her arms crossed. Hey I didn't want to spoil it, but that doesn't mean I gave you permission. In a way Xander wished he'd said that out loud.  
  
Shannon gave Naomi an evil look. Grrrr…spoil my kiss with Xander why don't you. Shannon also didn't have a clue about who Anya was and wondered if she was a girlfriend or if Naomi had made her up.  
  
"Naomi I'm gonna kick your butt all the way to a stake in China."  
  
"And how do you expect to do that?"  
  
"I'm that good." Naomi started to run so Shannon went with her first instincts to follow her "Xander don't go anywhere, I need to talk to you afterwards." Shannon didn't like the way that last sentence came out it made her sound like a teacher. After she had shouted back to Xander she continued to chase Naomi.  
  
Xander knew that he should follow Shannon to help her but first he needed a weapon. Shannon had left her bag on the ground. He opened the bag to find that Shannon had taken her stake but had left her cross behind. Better than nothing thought Xander he decided that he would pick up a sharp stick if he saw it along the way. The park was a good place to find branches, which had been broken off by younger people swinging on them.  
  
There was a scream in the distance coming from a similar direction to where Shannon had run off after Naomi. Shannon. He had to catch up with the noise he had just heard. Where he had expected to see Shannon in a fight he saw Anna getting her dinner. It was a young woman, Xander could be so observant at times. She screamed again. There was no time to spare. Xander ran up, cross in hand, and the girl dropped to the floor. He thought it was strange that Anna wasn't too bothered about having a cross-shoved in her face. As he knelt down to check she was okay, Anna grabbed his neck from behind and pulled him to his feet. He gave one last look at the girl, who to his surprise, jumped to her feet and flashed him a wide smile. Then he understood it was a trap. Then before he could realise, Lynette had pushed something soft into his face and a strange scent filled his head. Xander went to a happy place, and temporarily leaving the conscious world.  
  
Naomi had been annoying and had run off without a real fight. She had finally made it back to where she had left Xander on his own. The strange thing was that Xander was no longer there.  
  
"Oh fuck." She looked around "I swear this was the right place." Then it hit her it had all been a trap. She blamed herself for Xander's disappearance. She ran in the direction of Giles' house, setting a new land- speed record. She just hoped they could help her save Xander. She couldn't bear the thought of them hurting him otherwise she would be royally pissed off.  
  
In the shadows, a demon lord watched her leave and allowed himself a quiet laugh. No matter what they do, they cannot escape from me.  
  
Spike walked into his home to find yet another surprise. There was a person lying unconscious or even dead on the floor. Ever since when did they deliver? The phase sounded quite familiar to him, but he couldn't think when he had used it previously. Spike knew that he couldn't harm a living person but this guy on his floor didn't look too lively. He grabbed the strangers' head and pulled it back ready to bite his neck. The face looked familiar from the side, so he decided to see whom the person was. His hand lost its grip and Xanders head hit the floor.  
  
"Alright, is this some kind of joke?" Spike didn't think it would be too wise to eat the slayers friends, who would piss her off and Spike was in no condition to fight Buffy. Wait till I get this bloody chip out of my head.  
  
"Spike don't eat him."  
  
"Anna, what is Xander doing here?"  
  
"You know the plan Spike I need somewhere to keep him."  
  
"Well why don't you take him to an abandoned warehouse like all the other villains do." Spike was pissed off with Anna.  
  
"You don't want me to think that you going to rat out on us, do you? You're not acting like mister co-operative."  
  
"Hey the kid annoys me as much as the others, but I've got my own plans and I don't want you lot screwing them up. Remember you didn't have live in his smelly basement."  
  
"I would have loved to be there, a sleep over with both Xander and Spike." Anna was talking like there was no one else in the room.  
  
"What are you trying to flirt with me?"  
  
"Depends do you like it?"  
  
"I don't get what you Welsh girls are up to, with your flirting with me."  
  
"I think it's the hair or maybe it the accent only one to find out." Anna grabbed Spike and they snogged. "Naomi was right you are a good kisser, but I prefer Xander. He's got that whole cute thing going for him."  
  
Spike sight came back into focus "What just happened than?"  
  
"I snogged you." Said Anna slowly "Don't tell Naomi she gets a little moody when I snog the lads she's going out with. Oh and I did to change the subject."  
  
"Where is Naomi by the way?"  
  
"Getting food with Lynette. Lynettes the best at getting something to eat as she normally finds something tasty. When they get back we'll move Xander to the typical villainous abandoned warehouse hideout." The door opened. "Speak of the devil."  
  
"I'm not the devil, I'm Lynette not Ronan." Lynette dragged in a lad's body, which was going slightly blue. Naomi followed with another lad who was just unconscious. "Near dead guy is for you Spike."  
  
"How come I get the scraps?"  
  
"Cause you can't hurt this one otherwise you get a big headache remember?"  
  
Naomi came round to Spike and they kissed dropping the lad on the floor. A hungry Anna picked him back up and started drain his body of his blood.  
  
"Hey save me some." Naomi stopped snogging Spike to have her dinner. Three of the four vampires drug their teeth into lads who would not be waking up again.  
  
"Mmm…tasty, but not up to your usual standard of finding something good to eat."  
  
"They bugged me, I named them Wednesday s' wankers cause I saw them last Wednesday and they pretty much bugged me then. I drunk some of the most annoying one at the park, but he was still alive when decapitated him. The bugger blew cigarette smoke in my face."  
  
"That is so disgusting." Anna said.  
  
"And what you lot do isn't." Xander had regained consciousness and though he was still a little groggy, had managed to stand up.  
  
"I thought this was America where you act like it's one of the seven deadly sins." Anna walked a few steps closer to the Xander but he walked closer to the door.  
  
"Well I may not like it but well both are disgusting habits."  
  
"Hey I'm not ready for a debate, go back to sleep." Anna walked right up to and punched him out "I wish I hadn't done that now he's gonna have a big bruise."  
  
The door was only open for a second before it was slammed shut.  
  
"Guys were in deep shit, well we're not but Xander is." Shannon regretted going to Giles as she knew what question would follow and she had a feeling they wouldn't be happy with her. Though she would have do tell them for Xanders sake, she needed there help to save him before Anna gets her filthy teeth into him.  
  
"Shannon, what happened to Xander?" asked Buffy  
  
"You know Anna got him. We were walking through the park to get back to his basement after seeing the movie. I saw Naomi and I followed my instincts to chase her. She soon disappeared and went back to where we had been, but he was gone. Now I'm on a major guilt trip."  
  
"Do you have any idea where they may have taken him?" Buffy asked the question again.  
  
"No, if I knew that don't you think I would be there."  
  
Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose before he began to speak to the girls and Oz.  
  
"If you three look around Willow and I will research if there's anywhere they may have taken him like an abandoned building somewhere. Which park were you at?"  
  
"I'm not quite sure of the name, but I can take you there and we can begin the search round that area." The name of the park was on the tip of her tongue. She could see the sign in her mind, but the picture was out of focus. I better find them, because I'm so pissed off and I want to take it out on them, especially Anna with her huge stupid crush on Xander. They left Giles' house and Oz drove them in the directions Shannon pointed. Shannon knew in her the bottom heart that so far things were not looking hopeful.  
  
Xanders' face was pounding. He opened his eyes to find that he had been moved from Spikes' crypt. Xander was pissed off with Spike he knew that he wasn't to be trusted but he also didn't expect Spike to working with Anna. It made sense though Anna knew where to find him and Spike knew the gangs' hangouts.  
  
Xander wanted to rub his sore face but his hands were tied behind a post of some sort. He didn't know if it was part of building or if it had put there especially for him. He tried to see if he could get off the ropes, which tied his hands together, but after getting those off he knew he would have to try struggling out of the ropes, which held his arms and chest to the post. Some one was coming towards him. The shadow face soon showed Anna in normal features. She put her cold hand against the part of his face where he was sore.  
  
"That looks like it hurts, I'm sorry."  
  
"Out of all the things I thought you may say I didn't expect an apology, though if you really want me to forgive you for it, you could start by letting me go."  
  
"Nice try, but recall asking you to forgive me," Anna kissed Xanders bruise then his lips ", but I hope that helps make up for it."  
  
"No not really, though you could tell me why I'm not dead or soon to be undead."  
  
"Cause if I killed you now I'd have to wait for you to die then come back and I'm not a patient person."  
  
"So are you ever going to turn me into a vampire?"  
  
"Sounding a little anxious aren't we?"  
  
"No I'm just happy standing here tied to a big old post wondering when I'm going to die, so when am I going to die?"  
  
"I'll probably do it just before I go to bed that way I won't have to wait long when I get up."  
  
"Are we alone here?" Xander decided if he asked the right questions that he might be able to find a way out.  
  
"Naomi and Spike are off somewhere fucking and Lynette walked off somewhere for a snack before sunrise."  
  
"Oh. These ropes are a little tight can you loosen them a little."  
  
"Yeah and I have the word idiot printed all over my forehead." Anna was not stupid enough to do that. Xander had hoped that she was, but he was obviously unlucky. He didn't want to talk to Anna, but he also didn't want to get bored, as all he could do was talk or sleep at the moment. Buffy and Shannon will save him someone always did. He was trying to stay a little hopeful and was thinking what he chances of survival are.  
  
He looked at Anna who was being quiet maybe hoping for him to say a comeback. Xander wasn't planning to say anything; also the reason was he didn't want to be too cocky in case Anna decided to kill him sooner instead of later. Anna was wearing a red sleeveless top and black trousers. The top was blood red just like in his dream.  
  
"Am I meant to say something evil, because I stumped for something to say."  
  
"If you want to, but general conversation is good too." Xander for a second didn't think of Anna as the evil vampire that was going to kill him, but just another person.  
  
"Hey, it makes you anymore uncomfortable I could have an attempt at an evil laugh or maybe a freaky giggle which I use on Naomi to annoy her. It doesn't work to well if I'm not in hysterics in first place."  
  
"Oh I'm so disappointed." Xander said sarcastically.  
  
"Don't worry they'll be plenty of time for that in the future." Xander was disappointed but it was more about Anna had gone from nice person trying to be evil, but she had returned to a vampire that's going to kill him.  
  
Lynette walked into room; it was the first time he had seen Lynette properly. She had some blood around her mouth, which was removed, when she wiped it off with her sleeve.  
  
"Naomi is coming, she'll be here in a minute." Said Lynette but Anna answer with an unexpected sigh.  
  
"We're no longer alone then, shame I wanted to talk some more." Anna whispered to Xander before Lynette came into hearing range.  
  
"He's up then, hello Xander, I'm Lynette I don't think we had time to be introduced yet."  
  
"Anna, have you got any more friends or is this it just the three of you."  
  
"Nope me, Lynette, Naomi and there was Shannon but she's not undead so she kinda out of the loop now. I guess if she was to become a vampire that she could come back into the group. Though there may be a little friction at first for the whole trying to eat each other thing."  
  
"Hello." Naomi walked towards her friends.  
  
"Isn't anyone going to say hello to me?" Anna recognised the voice, which had been as cold as the air in the room. She spun round to meet the face of the thing she didn't really want to see.  
  
"Shit," Anna saw the big demon take off its cloak to reveal its wrinkled grey skin and long sharp claws. It had a ring of different sized horns on the top of its head, which looked like a crown. It grinned at the occupants of the room with its small but razor sharp teeth. "It's old prune face Gerathon."  
  
"Still attempting to be cocky Anna just like you did after your obvious failed attack to destroy me."  
  
"Yeah well I always wanted to rebel against something. Come on we don't want to be like before, do you guys?" Anna ran towards Gerathon, she jumped at him to try and bring him down. Her belly was by the back of Gerathons hand, which slammed her against the wall. She slid down to the ground. Naomi tried her luck with a kick to his chest, but like Anna she failed.  
  
"Aren't you going to try a miserable attempt Lynette?"  
  
"No, there's no way that I'm gonna be able to bring you down on my own. Look at them for example, it looks like it hurts a lot."  
  
"You were always the sensible one. Who's this here?" He pointed at Xander.  
  
"That's Xander."  
  
"He'll do fine."  
  
"Fine? What will I be fine for? Will someone please tell me?"  
  
Anna got up from floor slowly she put her hand on her back where it hurt the most. "You can't take him, he's mine!"  
  
"Still waiting for someone to explain what the hell is going on."  
  
"Gerathon feeds on souls and he can take them from those who are pure of heart." Explained Lynette "Obviously you are and well ain't it just lucky that you're here."  
  
"Gerathon fuck off we no longer work for you, we are now independent upon ourselves. Hey we've even able to survive round here where there's a slayer lurking." Naomi was too off the floor and walking around.  
  
"A slayer! Well I haven't had one of those in centuries and I can still remember how tasty the soul was. Anna I'm willing to make a deal which may please you."  
  
"Yeah I know. We get the slayer for you and I can have Xander."  
  
"No that wasn't what I was thinking."  
  
"Why what were you thinking of?" asked Naomi.  
  
"I have his soul now then you guys bring me the slayer and I won't kill you for what you did."  
  
"I preferred mine." Said Anna thinking about it.  
  
"Hang on that doesn't make sense to me." Said Lynette " Why should I get myself killed trying to save him. Who is going to die anyway it just depends if he stays dead."  
  
"Hey do I get to make a decision about my life?" Xander said though in a way he knew what the answer.  
  
"NO!" replied all the other occupants in the room.  
  
"Look Lynette, 'cause if you don't do it I'll kill you." Threatened Anna  
  
"That's not very nice and who says you're going to get the chance to kill me."  
  
"I've decided. You've got tomorrow night to bring me the slayer or else I will have Xander's soul and kill the rest of you."  
  
"You so unfair I hate you, I mean I don't even like the guy and I'm stuck here with my life in the balance. Anna this is your problem not mine."  
  
"Naomi if you die you won't see Spike again and that means no more fucking." Anna pointed out for Naomi; she didn't like the way her friends wouldn't help her.  
  
"Will you girls please shut up!" There was more anger in Gerathons voice "Either the slayer dies or you do, get this in your thick heads."  
  
"Any luck?" asked Willow as Buffy, Shannon and Oz entered, but she could tell by the look on their faces that they were not lucky.  
  
"No." said Buffy "What about you?"  
  
"I'd like to say yes, but I leaning more towards no. That's lots of places where he could be, there's abandoned warehouses, stores and houses and who's to say they're there."  
  
Giles appeared from another room,  
  
"You need sleep. I know you may not want to but the sun will be rising soon and they won't be going any where in the day time."  
  
"I'm not tired." The yawn that followed shortly afterwards did not help Shannon. She wanted to hide it but then it would look like she was going to fart. "Damn it, they may not be able to go outside but that wouldn't stop them not having a midnight snack on Xander. You know what else annoys me the plan was so simple and I couldn't see that it was a trap."  
  
"Shannon you're obviously tired and frustrated I would recommend some sleep. A few hours will do you fine." Giles didn't think it would be too good for them if they were going to fall asleep in battle.  
  
"Giles read my lips," she mimed the word no "I'm going back out there and if I fall a sleep then I'll just have to collapse on to the floor."  
  
"I think if you want to make it dramatic you should storm out of here slamming the door behind you." Buffy suggested but it also sounded like she was being a bitch.  
  
"Maybe I will and you guys can join me on my guilt trip if I never return."  
  
"Now Shannon it's not your fault." Giles tried to make her feel better.  
  
"Yeah. You keep hold of that thought, I'm going' to look for Xander." Willow stood up and put her hand on Shannon's shoulder.  
  
"Giles is right. We'd all do better after a good nights sleep." Shannon gave a guilty look.  
  
"Maybe you would, but I'm not shutting my eyes until he's safe." She walked off, about to slam the door, then thought the better of it and closed it slowly. Giles sighed and began to wipe his glasses with an old tissue.  
  
"Shannon seems to have taken well to Xander. Which is nice." Willow looked at him. "Why exactly?" Giles looked thoughtful.  
  
"Well, it's just that Shannon has always had a certain Faith-ness about her, and well, I just thought the more she is involved in the group, the less likely it is that she will, er, go bad." Buffy knew what he meant. She had noticed it too. But right now, she had to spend her worry tokens on Xander.  
  
"I will sleep, I promise, just one more hour of panic-stricken searching for Xander. Come on Will, I'll walk you home. Bye Giles." Then he was left alone, quietly worrying about current events. 


	5. Chapter Five

Authors note: If you want to review I would like it if you reviewed some of the characters and not just the story. I was wondering if anyone has a fave character of the ones I've created or if any are really annoying you. My fave character that I've created is Anna.  
  
  
  
"Xander, are you awake?" it was Anna.  
  
"Yep, I'm kinda worried what will happen if I fall asleep." The sun was up now. He could only tell by the fraction of light that made it through the blacked out windows.  
  
"I know what to do now." Anna closed in on Xander.  
  
"Could you tell me first?" He knew what her plan was when she put on her vampire face. "Anna you can't kill me, I mean you could but it wouldn't be a good idea. See if you change me now what his face would kill you and probably me when I would rise. How would that make you feel?"  
  
"Xander, do you care about me or are you trying to save your own cute butt?"  
  
She changed her features back to normal.  
  
"Probably trying to save me, but raising a valid thought, which may come true."  
  
"I would feel like an idiot."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"If that happened I would feel like an idiot. I should have really thought though it a little more instead of jumping to first idea that came to my mind."  
  
"You know what I have a great idea, why don't you let me go and then I can live. That's what you would do if you really cared about me."  
  
"I'm not to keen on that idea, you may get to live but I would probably get staked and never see you again. That's two cons I believe, now what's a pro? One for you but none for me really."  
  
"Get away from him." Xander hoped it was Shannon or Buffy who had come to rescue him. The voice was identifiable as Lynettes though.  
  
"Don't you trust me?"  
  
"Frankly no I don't, I know you've got a sort of crush on him. Look Anna maybe if we just give him Xander he'll bugger off and he'll leave us alone."  
  
"Lynette I can't believe you're saying this. Lately I feel that you and Naomi are ganging up on me. We're stuck in a rut and he's probably gonna kill us afterwards or me at least."  
  
"Why you?"  
  
"I've just got the feeling he dislikes me the most for several reasons. You know how I have this way of annoying people." Anna gave Lynette a look when she nodded in agreement. "What we did back home was what many have wanted to do but haven't. The only reason he came back after us is that we can't be allowed to go around bragging about disrupting his power. He's meant to be the big bad demon that everyone's afraid of, but three rather new little girlie vampires stood up against him. He's gonna need something to take back to regain the respect and fear he's lost. Plus I'm sure he didn't throw Naomi against the wall as hard."  
  
"Oh, well I kinda knew that."  
  
"Good speech though worthy of an award." Anna wouldn't have minded being an actress like a lot of girls and as a vampire she would never grow old. The problem was those daylight scenes and also she wasn't that good of an actress  
  
"It wasn't that good."  
  
"I know but in my mind it was very good." She imagined the audience standing up, cheering, applauding, throwing roses. As Anna took a bow she caught a bouquet of beautiful roses in her arms. Thankyou, Thankyou! Her mind returned to reality just in time to hear Lynette say,  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"I thought it was okay it explained a few things to me." Said Xander who still wanted to know more. He hadn't really heard them mention anything of Shannon. He decided that he should bring her up. It was the only way he was only going to find out anymore about her. "Hey you know Shannon very well."  
  
Both girls turned and looked at him with a pissed off expression. The name Shannon had certainly touched a nerve. He just hoped that they weren't going to take out their anger on him. Then they changed face.  
  
"Yep our good friends Shannons in town. We've seen her about with you." Said Lynette "You two have really hit it off. I'm actually happy that she's making new friends. See we were her only friends and anyone else that was anyone near the status of a friend never arrived or their playdate."  
  
"We caused havoc in our high school. She even helped out on one occasion."  
  
"Yeah I heard about that."  
  
"You know what pisses me off. She's meant to be our friend. She was to have been all 'oh no I can't kill you you're my friends', but she tries all the time." Anna loved being the typical villain who couldn't die otherwise there would be no more arch-nemesis and life turns to one fight stands.  
  
"She can't destroy us as it's that little nagging thing in the back of her head stopping her. Even though she is looking at the vampire format of her friends, she can't kill her best friends." Lynette explained her little idea of why Shannon could dust most vampires but not them.  
  
"Oh I've just come up with a brand new theory! Even though we aren't the big bad we are still her arch nemesis and if you get rid of us there is a gap that needs to filled by something that's even worse, even badder, even eviler. This theory is now my number answer to the question, it's so much better. It also explains why there is a never ending supply of bad guys." Anna was filled with self-satisfaction and smiled happily at her genius. Xander runs over to her after she's caught the flowers and gives her a big congratulation kiss. Anna was running off with her big imagination again. Lynette noticed her doing this.  
  
"Come away from guy tied to a big stick now, big a good little vampire and skip along to your coffin." Lynette pushed Anna away from Xander.  
  
"Wait you guys actually have coffins." That was a very weird thing he had never come across vampires who actually did the whole coffin thing.  
  
"No whatever gave you that idea." Answered Lynette who walked with Anna.  
  
"Great I'm all alone and talking to myself again, what fun!" He tried to go to sleep, but were he stood was not exactly luxury. In his mind he knew that it was strange that he actually wanted Anna to come back so he'd have some company. He also wanted food because he hadn't eaten in along time, but it seemed that he was food in the dark, lonely abandoned warehouse.  
  
  
  
"Xander you're alive and here." Said Shannon who ran up to him and gave him a huge hug.  
  
"Actually I'm sort of dead and it's all your fault." Xander pushed her away. She tripped and fell to ground; Xander didn't help her he just smiled.  
  
"You're only sort of dead, you're smiling about being mean and oh my God you look hot in that leather jacket. Shit, oh I heard about this from Buffy and Willow. You wearing a leather jacket can mean one thing you're evil. You're an evil undead bloodsucking soul less creature of the night bloodsucking fiend. Okay before you say it I know I said bloodsucking twice but it's a very important feature of you being a vampire, you evil vampire you." She got up Shannon didn't believe that sitting down was a safe thing to do.  
  
"Ouch that hurt so much I think I'm going to cry now." He put his hand on his heart and frowned at her.  
  
"Don't be sarcastic I'm so much better."  
  
"I'm hungry and I guess you'll do just about fine." Xander was approaching Shannon she got in to a fighting stance. One kick to his belly sent him flying so far he looked liked a dot.  
  
"I didn't want to do it, but it had to be done." She turned around to find Xander there "Did I just kick you all around the world?"  
  
"I've went all around the world just to find my tea just standing here."  
  
"Yeah well I didn't expect you to get here so soon." She tried to move her feet to kick the vampire Xander again but it was if her feet had been glued to the floor.  
  
"You're still just standing there." He circled her.  
  
"I'm having slight technical difficulties right now." She tried to use her hands to pull her feet off the floor but it was useless.  
  
"Too scared to move or is it something else?" Xander chucked her a small tube. Shannon looked at the label it said SUPER STICKY SUPER GLUE LASTS FOR HOURS!  
  
"Oh that's great but I call it cheating!" She chucked the glue back at him but he dodged it.  
  
"I think it's deserved after all it's your fault I'm like this."  
  
"Thanks just rub it in some more why don't you!"  
  
"Why am I still talking to you I'm really hungry and you're not going anywhere."  
  
"And I'm so happy about it."  
  
"Think about it that's the last sarcastic comment you'll ever say."  
  
"Wait give me a while longer I can think of something better." Before she had chance to rethink it his teeth were biting her neck and her blood was being drained from her body. She couldn't feel it though.  
  
  
  
Shannon woke up at Giles' house. She had left to search for Xander but after an hour and a half of finding nothing she realised she had no place to go. Giles hadn't minded her coming in an early hour, but was probably more relieved that she hadn't collapsed in front of cave where vampires inhabited. She had decided that she couldn't let anything like pride let her get killed.  
  
Shannon didn't like her nightmare; it was playing on all her current fears much like a nightmare tends to do. The only thing that she could hope about that none of it would come true. To make sure it wouldn't come true she needed to look for Xander. She looked down at her watch.  
  
"Damn it, shit, crap, fuck! Oh bugger!""  
  
"What's with all the language?" Giles came down the stairs wearing his robe.  
  
"I've decided to expand my vocabulary, what do you think?"  
  
"That those words aren't exactly the most intelligent words they teach in school."  
  
"Look at the time." she shoved her watch in Giles' face and he pulled his head back.  
  
"I'm not blind you know? It's almost eleven thirty, gosh I haven't slept in like that for a while." Said Giles  
  
"Xanders life is mortal peril and I get to have a sleep, I might of well of had a manicure before I rip Annas' heart and showed her me putting a stake through her heart."  
  
"I thought you and Anna use to be friends?"  
  
"Well we were before she died came back as a vampire, turned my other friend into a vampire, blew up Westlife and kidnapped Xander. So I think I have a few reasons to be pissed off with her!"  
  
"She's not your friend though anyway she's the thing that killed your friend."  
  
"Well I'm pissed off with that thing too!" Shannon grabbed her coat and headed for the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" he knew but he thought he'd better ask.  
  
"Looking for Xander of course. I hope I'll find him now while I'm this pissed off."  
  
"Why are you pissed off with him also?"  
  
"No haven't you been listening to me, I'm pissed off with my friends though I wouldn't mind finding out who Anya is, do you know Giles?"  
  
"Um… well I think you better ask Xander when you find him. I'll ring Buffy and Willow to see how they're doing."  
  
She walked off hoping that she would be lucky and would find Xander before anything happened to him. Before she left Shannon turned back to Giles to say one more thing.  
  
"I'll probably report back a little bit after sunset, just to see if you've found anything, now I'm off to redo my dramatic exit." She did think about telling Giles about her dream, but she was more concerned about making sure that the events of it wouldn't be repeated.  
  
  
  
"Shannons really concerned about Xander." Said Willow as her and Buffy walked along the college campus.  
  
"I noticed." Replied Buffy  
  
"But that's the problem, she's only known him for a few days and she seems more about him then we are and I've known him for most of my life."  
  
"Will, it's not like she is more concerned, maybe we're just more sure we're going to find Xander then she is."  
  
"No, but I fell straight a sleep last night, I should be more worried, I should of…"  
  
"Look you were tired, we all were. Any second now a big clue will pop and we'll know exactly where he is, burst in and save the day." Buffy was trying to reassure Willow, but firstly she had to reassure herself. "Have I ever let the gang down?"  
  
"Well there was the time you ate most of the jelly doughnuts and Giles wasn't to happy about that."  
  
"Yes but I pretty much made up for that by stopping the apocalypse sisters."  
  
"I remember that end of the world call, Xander wasn't there because we were to worried that he'd get hurt."  
  
"We're underrating Xander here. I mean he's brought me back from dead and saved my life a few times, remember fish dudes."  
  
"I don't like the way we're talking it's as if he's dead and we're trying to think of good things to say about him for the eulogy."  
  
"I'm gonna make sure that it doesn't even come close, nobody kidnaps my friends and expects not to get a big can of whoop ass."  
  
  
  
He stood there in the shadows once more watching Anna disappear into Sunnydales mass network of sewers. She had got an early start on her friends who wouldn't leave till the sun had set and they could see their safety blanket of night. He returned his private part of the warehouse. His minions waited for him in there. The soulless vampires lay asleep on the floor. There were six of them who had travelled with him and who had done most of the searching. He tried to make them fearful, but now there were the three girls who had dared tried to destroy him.  
  
"Get up." He kicked the closest one in the stomach; they curled over into a ball. "They'll be leaving soon to find me the slayer."  
  
"The slayers here they would never survive a fight against her."  
  
"Don't you think I know that?" He clapped the one who had just spoken around the head. "I have made a deal with them that if they can bring me the slayer they may live and so will Xander."  
  
"I thought you were going to consume his soul." Said another vampire.  
  
"I am, when they have all gone. I see it as a win-win situation. I will either have one soul and them dead or two souls, one who's going to make me very powerful."  
  
"If they return with the slayer what will you do with them?"  
  
"If, they can defeat her which I doubt I think it would be very good to have vampires on my side which are strong enough to defeat a slayer. I doubt they will though, they're still young and foolish. I've been able to split there group up, so now Anna's going to attempt to get the slayer herself and Naomi and Lynette are annoyed that they have to face the slayer due to Anna having a crush on Xander. I'm very happy and I also believe I'm gloating."  
  
Gerathon stopped he could Naomi and Lynette talking and he wanted to listen.  
  
"Gera..." one of the vampires wanted to compliment him on his plan.  
  
"Shut up or I'll rip out your heart with my own two hands." He whispered his threat so that the two females wouldn't hear it.  
  
"I think I saw Anna leave without us." Naomi told Lynette.  
  
"Whatever, if she wants to go out and get herself killed that's fine by me."  
  
"You want Anna to die."  
  
"No, but she's always the one who's running out into the middle of the road and I just feel that we've been dragged out there also."  
  
"Do you want to go find her?"  
  
"Sure, it's better than hanging around here."  
  
"True, but how long is it till sunset."  
  
"Half an hour." Naomi looked at her watch. "We'll take the sewers till then."  
  
"Ew, I hope they're not as yucky as the ones at home."  
  
He saw Naomi open the grid, which Lynette jumped into followed shortly by herself. He thought he heard Lynette say something else like "there just as bad", but he couldn't be sure.  
  
"They're gone." The demon and the vampires left the private room and walked to the main part of the warehouse.  
  
  
  
All of the vampires had left Xander leaving him on his own with the demon. That was a thought he didn't particularly like. He had eventually gone to sleep though he didn't sleep well. He had a similar nightmare to the one he had the other night. It was if it had been continued except he hadn't been burnt at the stake, which always thought was a good thing. He had to choose between Anya and Shannon or else they would kill him. It would have been interesting to find out whom he had chosen, but he had woken up just as the name was about to be spoken. He pondered over whom he would pick in his head. Had he ruined his relationship with Anya? Were him and Shannon meant for each other? He didn't feel like thinking about it too much just in case his head exploded.  
  
There was movement but it looked like there was more then what could be caused by one demon. Xander was right. After Gerathon entered where Xander was standing four more vampires followed him. He knew from experience that that was not a good sign.  
  
"Start preparing I'm hungry."  
  
Buffy, Willow and Oz waited with Giles in his condo for Shannon. None of them had had any luck with the search for Xander; they only hoped that she had. There was a knock at the door.  
  
"Finally, let's hope she's got some good news. Come in it's open." Invited Giles.  
  
"Thanks for the invite," said Anna who stood there at the open door "it's getting a little chilly outside."  
  
" What are you doing here?" Giles was joined by Buffy, the other were also out of their seats.  
  
"You know perfectly well why and Buffy put that stake down, you're not exactly scaring me with it."  
  
"Well you should be scared I'm gonna be introducing it to your heart any second now." She held it ready to plunge it into Annas' heart.  
  
"If you stake me though you'll never know where Xander is." She stepped further into the house, running her finger along the desk.  
  
"Okay, you've got a good point, but with you dead he won't be harms way." "That's what you think he's in big trouble and it's not me who's gonna cause the pain."  
  
"Continue."  
  
"Basically our ex-boss has come to town and he's hungry."  
  
"I think we need more information than that." Buffy threatened Anna with the stake.  
  
"There's no need to do that, I'll spill. See back home we were like a group, we're like you guys working together to help keep down the vampire population. There were quite a few considering it wasn't the Hellmouth or anything. "  
  
"You mean you would help Shannon?" Questioned Giles.  
  
"Oh she didn't tell you."  
  
"Tell you what?" it was Shannon she looked around then she saw Anna and fire was in her eyes. "Bitch! Where's Xander?" She was about to charge but Buffy stopped her.  
  
"Anna was just saying how when you guys were friends and they were alive you worked together."  
  
"Until the night on the way out of the cinema we met a group of vampire friends, we dusted about two but we kinda failed miserably. Shannon here was out of town and Lynette was getting over the 'flu'. We weren't really liked at all because we had staked a few vampires, but we still discovered why there were so many vampires.  
  
"There's a demon he calls himself Gerathon, he consumes good peoples souls and they make him more powerful. The more good the persons done over the years, the more it increases his power. "  
  
"A soul seeking demon, what does he look like?" Giles walked towards his bookcase.  
  
"He's a grey, wrinkly, big demon, who smells kinda funny, strong too and he's always boasting about some great power. He says that as soon as he has enough power, he'll unleash something that will kill most of man and allow more demons to roam the world."  
  
"That's stupid if he kills most of man won't that means no more food for you guys." Shannon looked at Anna as if she was saying; "ha you were too stupid to realise that."  
  
"I asked that question too, he said that somehow the bodies will still be fresh enough to eat. Vampires liked the idea of getting food without having to try that hard, so they were willing to join him. I'm sure everyone's just getting lazy. We joined in. We thought it best to keep with this guy; vampires that work for him aren't allowed to kill each other without his permission. He'd tell you who was ready and where to go and get them. He has some sort of sense to know where these people are. We got to do some travelling around Britain looking for these guys. "Eventually it got boring having someone else tell you what to do and I personally don't trust him. That whole people will be fresh to eat and demons walking along the earth bit. I don't believe it. Plus I did some research most demons don't like vampires think they're rats and useless."  
  
"Technically that's true vampires are the scum of the earth." Buffy bitched.  
  
"Hey do think I'm totally happy, most people think it's cool the whole living forever and the being stronger thing. It's cool I got to admit it and I'm gonna see the world evolve and change, I'm never going to grow old. Anyone who gets on my nerves I eat. I'm happy with myself again. What was I talking about again, I kinda trailed off for a second." The people in the room who weren't undead gave Anna a strange look. "Oh yeah, we blew up the room he was in with a rocket launcher and fled the place. Now he's in Sunnydale and pissed off. Tonight he's gonna kill Xander, I don't want that to happen and neither do you. Xander been a good boy from the looks of it and the hungrier he gets the less likely it will be good for Xander."  
  
"So after all your yapping tell us where he is!" demanded Shannon.  
  
"That was such a great plan, I have Xander and you guys have no idea where to find him."  
  
"Found it!" announced Giles.  
  
"Xanders location?" asked Willow.  
  
"No, no Gerathon. He's a soul-seeking demon and he does boast that he will destroy mankind. The funny thing is that it doesn't say how. I think that he just is using that to create more fear. The power he has though can only be released once he has enough power, but it is unknown how many."  
  
"I knew it, though if he was going to destroy the world it would probably be from the smell of his BO. The guys been around for a few centuries with time on his hand and he never thought to take a bath. Thinking about it if he's been around so long why does he still need to gather souls for energy? I guess he could have lost them at one point and have to start all over again or he's just too lazy to get his own food so he gets vampire to retrieve it for him." Said Anna. No one was listening to her at this point even though she had just finally worked out what Gerathon had probably been doing. She was use to it though and it was their lost.  
  
"Anna tell us where Xander is now?" this time Buffy demanded the address.  
  
"I'll take you there, otherwise as soon as I tell you, you're gonna stake me. Is that okay with you?"  
  
"No, but Xander hasn't got enough time for us to just stand around here trying to get it out of you. We're going now, grab some weapons. Giles what kills him?" Buffy was giving out the commands.  
  
"I believe chopping his head off will do the trick."  
  
"Fine." Buffy walked over to the weapons trunk and grabbed a big sword.  
  
"Anna, he better be alive." The entire group told her this.  
  
"Trust me, anyway it's been said that sometimes it doesn't kill the person. On more than a couple of occasions the persons stays alive, he just has no soul. He spends the rest of his life angry with everyone and never feels love. They also have the tendency to be slightly psychotic."  
  
"Anna, he still better have his soul." Threatened Shannon who put an extra stake in her pocket. She could of hit or killed Anna, but decided against it. Xanders life was at stake and she didn't want to increase the odds, which were already against them.  
  
"Whatever." She said it in a phoney clueless American accent. She also moved her fingers to form a W shape and then shoved it in Shannons' face.  
  
"You annoy me a lot." Said Shannon followed by an annoyed grunt, but all she got from Anna, as a response was her indicating to the Slayers gang indicating yet again with her hands that Shannon was nagging.  
  
They walked up the stairs to the street where Oz had parked his van and they all got inside. Anna sat shotgun so that she could direct Oz to the whereabouts of Xander. Willow was not keen about having a vampire sitting next to her boyfriend.  
  
"Hey I have one more thing to add to this deal, there is to be no staking me or decapitating me or anything which has me ending up as a big pile of dust on the floor."  
  
Buffy thought about it. She knew that she could just stake Anna after they had found Xander.  
  
"Buffy will stop thinking about how you're going to stake me after you've found Xander."  
  
"Are you psychic or something?" Buffy hoped Anna would say no, if Anna could read minds then she would know all of Buffys moves. Giles had discussed this with Buffy when she had the opportunity to read minds, but she had more interested in using her power in class to surprise teachers. She had enjoyed that power. The problem was that after a while the voices in her head nearly driven her crazy.  
  
"Yes Buffy I can read minds and now please excuse me while I turn into a bat."  
  
Buffy leaned over to Giles and whispered in his ear,  
  
"Please tell me she was being sarcastic."  
  
"I think she was by the tone of her voice."  
  
"Good, I've never had to deal with a psychic vampire who could turn into a bat before. Actually I hope I never do meet one. Hey," she turned to face Anna again "how did you know I was planning to stake you, maybe."  
  
"You're a slayer, I'm a vampire who's not stupid." Anna thought it would be cool to be able to read minds or fly, but for the moment all she had was super strength and immortality. Even more important she was going to have Xander. 


	6. Chapter Six

"Is there meant to be some sort of ritual for sucking my soul?" asked Xander as the vampires put these things around him, which looked like blocks of wood. Each block of wood had a symbol on it. He couldn't quite make out what it was meant to be. To him they were just squiggles, but he knew that if Giles were here he could work out what the symbols meant.  
  
Xander thought about what he just said. Maybe it would be better if he didn't know what the ritual was. He also thought that he might not want to know what the deal with the strange blocks of wood was. They couldn't help but interest him. After all the research he had done for Giles he thought that something might come to mind. Wood burns. He knew that thought could be correct. The thought reminded him of his strange dream he had the other night when a load of females had burned him alive. Cool, I had a kinda predicting dream. He only wished that he had dreamed about the winning lottery numbers.  
  
"Have you prepared the flame?" The demon asked his minions. Shit they are going to burn me thought Xander.  
  
"This flame is that going to be on the wood which burns and will be burning quite close to me?" He had finally done something cool and had a dream that was predicting something but he didn't think the ones that predicted the method the bad guys would use to kill you was a very good one.  
  
"Shut up and do some panicking! I'm getting hungry and when I get hungry, I tend to get angry and when I'm angry I want to kill something. Any volunteers?" He looked around at his minions and Xander. His minions turned their faces away from his glare so that they wouldn't make eye contact. "That's what I thought, be afraid, be very afraid."  
  
One of the vampires moved slightly he wanted to tell his demon master something, but he also didn't want to talk to him just in case he was in the crazy killing mood. He got of his knees finally and walked closer.  
  
"Everything is ready except we're not quite sure about the flame. The powder doesn't look right and I'm wondering if we haven't put enough of an ingredient in the mixture." The vampire took a step back. Gerathon indicated with his hand that he wanted to have a look at the powder to form his own opinion. One vampire held a small bag in his hands and passed it to the vampire, which had just spoken. The vampire then raised his arm slightly to give it to Gerathon.  
  
Gerathon opened the small pouch and removed a little of its content. Some crushed red grains were mixed in with different shades of green dust. The majority of it was a dark green. He raised it to his nose and sniffed it. After that he poured the powder back into the pouch, but didn't say a word.  
  
The closest vampire to him waited patiently for a reply but was also nervous that he had done poorly and the consequence would be fatal. He released how time seemed to go slower, every second doubled it was enough to drive him insane.  
  
"It will do." He gave the pouch back to the vampire "You know what to do, so stop standing there."  
  
The vampire took most of the powder and sprinkled it on each of the strange blocks of wood. Xander wondered if they would start to glow or something cool like that. Another vampire walked to the one with the pouch with a torch. Not the battery powered kind, but the ones that looked like giant matches. This helped confirm Xander of his burnt at the stake theory.  
  
The remainder of the powder was poured onto the torch; it was then set alight. At first the flame was its usual orangey colour then it turned a light blue next it was a bright green colour it finally settled as a purple flame. The vampire put the torch against one of the wooden blocks. Each one of them went through the strange changing colour routine in turn. Before he knew it Xander found himself surrounded by purple flames, which he found rather annoying. The temperature did not increase they just flickered then the demon started to speak.  
  
"Your soul will be mine,  
  
May it increase my powers,  
  
And your body a sacrifice,  
  
To release the demon lord."  
  
Xander felt as if his body was being ripped apart. It seemed to be never ending. The pain just continued to increase. Though he could not see much he could hear a sound, which was a mixture of screaming and laughing. The pain was too much bear, but it didn't matter once he'd passed out.  
  
  
  
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Anna put on the over dramatics, reaching her hand out towards Xander as she came to glimpse his lifeless body. "You bastard, you've killed him. You promised me. Did I forget to tell you I really hate you as well?"  
  
"Yes I killed him, no I didn't actually promise not to kill him and yes you did fail to say that you really hate me." Said Gerathon "I don't see the slayer with you though, so I was right to believe you would fail."  
  
"Thanks for the boost of confidence." Said Anna as she walked over to Xander and untied him. His lifeless body fell to the ground. "The slayer is with me actually, she's waiting outside with her gang and when they see Xander dead, they're truly going to kill you. I though won't be here. Goodbye." Anna walked away with Good Riddance by Greenday in her head. She wasn't actually going to leave; she was just going to watch Gerathon getting killed from a safer place. Anna liked being kinda alive as it beat being very dead.  
  
  
  
Buffy burst through the doors she saw six vampires, none of which were the annoying Anna and a demon. She also saw Xander who was lying on the ground.  
  
"Don't look so glum I'm just going to kill you as well." Said the demon as the slayer filled with rage over her friends' death. Four others followed her inside. Gerathon had recognised Shannon he had seen her fight vampires back in Wales. They all followed the slayers' emotional pattern. They cared about Xander a lot and were wondering if he was dead or best case scenario unconscious.  
  
The six vampires lunged at them. Buffy staked one before he was able to reach her. A cross in the face then a stake to the heart met the one that went after Willow and Oz. Four vampires came together and attacked Buffy at the same time. She was able to kick one in the chest, but there were too many to deal with at once. Giles ran over to assist Buffy by throwing a glass of holy water at them. All the vampires began to smoke as the holy water burned their skin. He then grabbed one of the vampires' jackets and pulled him off Buffy. He staked the vampire before it could get back on to his feet. Buffy managed to struggle free from the three vampires. She kicked one in the groin and elbowed another in the face. The other vampire came close to punching Buffy in the face but she managed to block its blow with her arm just in time and retaliated with a kick to the belly.  
  
Willow saw a vampire approach Buffy from behind. She used magick to float a piece of wood into the vampires' heart. Buffy turned around just in time to see it turn to dust as it fell to the ground. She smiled at Willow as a thank you then went to help Giles with the vampire he was struggling with. With it distracted by Giles' neck she was able to stake it without it noticing her approach. The vampire turned to dust, which then fell onto Giles.  
  
Buffy looked for the last vampire she saw Shannon fighting it. The vampire was against the wall and the cross that it cursed at held him there. Shannon wasn't waiting for help, as the cross was also a stake. She was torturing the vampire with the cross letting the crosses curse of pain linger before she killed it. The fact the cross doubled as a stake tormented the vampire as she taunted it with the method of death facing it but taking time to actually go through with it. Shannon then held the wooden cross like a dagger and drove its pointed end into its chest. There were no more vampires that she could see left but there was one very ugly demon.  
  
"I'm going to check on Xander." Shannon whispered to Buffy.  
  
Buffy threw away her stake and exchanged it for a silver short sword. They didn't know how to kill the demon but decapitation and multiple chest wounds sounded like a good start.  
  
"You think you can kill me slayer, but I've just fed which means that I am stronger then ever." Gerathon was going to use the energy it gained from killing Xander to destroy the slayer.  
  
"Well I'm feeling pissed off so I'm taking it out on you." Said Buffy as she started the attack.  
  
  
  
"Xander?" Shannon had just made it to him before the main fight had started she wanted to join in but first she had to see if Xander was still alive. Of course she wanted him to be fine though his chances were slim. He looked dead. His face was turning paler and his lips were beginning to look blue.  
  
Shannon put her face near his to see if he was still breathing. She thought she felt something but it could have been a slight breeze. She put her fingers against his wrist to find his pulse but nothing could be found. To double check she tried again but this time she put her fingers against his neck. Still nothing was found. Shannon though would not give up easily on him. She was going to have to try resuscitating him, but the problem though she had never done it before for real. While she had been at Guides they had shown her, another problem came up that had been five years ago.  
  
Buffy was fighting for revenge, but Shannon had to make sure it wasn't vengeance for a death. She put her lips to his mouth to do CPR, two breaths then she thumped her hands against his chest. Was it five or fifteen times damn it! She decided to do ten as it was in the middle. She only hoped that it would work. Yet again she tried to breathe life into him. Twice more she tried; she considered giving up as she couldn't stay there forever as they needed her help. She paused for a second to think through what she had to do. She was so busy considering the situation that Shannon didn't even notice that Xander had opened his eyes  
  
  
  
Naomi and Lynette stood outside watching the fight. They had given up on searching for slayer and had returned to see if Anna had had any luck. Obviously she had as Buffy was fighting Gerathon. They seemed equally matched. Now and gain one of the slayers little groupies would try and help just to be chucked to the side. The older guy who they were pretty sure was called Giles had been knocked out.  
  
They stood there still watching wondering if they should join in to help kill the slayer. The two female vampires couldn't help watching the fight it was better than joining in and a lot safer.  
  
"I can't see Anna, do you think she's been dusted?" Lynette looked one more time but found no trace. She thought that she could she a bit of dust on the ground, but that could have been due to the lack dusting. "Or maybe she left?"  
  
"Could it be time we left?" Naomi replied as she took a few steps away from the warehouse. "This place is boring, sure you've got the mystical energy and the plenty of meals on legs, but they're available everywhere."  
  
"Mystical energy?" asked Lynette confused by the fact that mystical energy couldn't be everywhere or they would be attracted to go everywhere. People though they could be found pretty much in any place on Earth. Then it hit her. "Oh, you're right let's go."  
  
"I love it when I'm right." Naomi and Lynette began walking away from the warehouse district.  
  
"I hate it when you gloat. Gloating really annoys me, it annoys me as much as Dawson."  
  
"Wow that much huh? So where to, I want to go to LA for a bit and I have to continue my search for Casey." Naomi drifted off into a short fantasy involving Casey and a bowl of chocolate.  
  
"What about Spike?" Lynette interrupted Naomi's fantasy with an interesting question.  
  
"Spike was great, but I need Casey. Spike's kinda been there done that now and Casey well now I want him. I wanna sire him so I can fuck him forever."  
  
"I wonder who I could sire? I mean that if you get to sire someone I should too. Like Anna was going to sire Xander, who do we get to sire?" Lynette kept asking a lot questions with answers she could only find by looking for hot guys.  
  
"I was thinking Oz though I got caught up with Spike and in the end I totally forgot about him. The Gerathon situation didn't help either. I can't be bothered with him now that I have remembered him. He was just one of my quickly passing crushes. Now lets head to LA, then wherever!" said Naomi as she eyed some dickheads, which would be perfect for their next meal. There were five of them. She decided that it might be best that Lynette and her should practise making there own vampires. There were two for testing, two for feeding and one for decapitation. The leading dickhead who was laughing his head off would be perfect to do it literally to.  
  
"Can we also go to India at some point. I've always wanted to go there and we just haven't yet." Lynette asked as she walked, but Naomi stopped her to explain what they were going to do next.  
  
The boys were happy at first to see a couple of pretty girls come up to them. They put their brain cell together to think up with a really original line.  
  
"Will you go with him?" The leader laughed pathetically and his friends copied the laughter. Their faces changed though as the girls' faces became distorted. It would be the last thing some would see.  
  
"That's not what we had in mind." said Lynette just before Naomi started to attack.  
  
  
  
"Shannon?" Shannon looked down to see that Xander was awake. She couldn't believe it; she was sure that he was a goner and would have had to take out her vengeance on Gerathon. She gave him a hug and was about to give him a huge kiss.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" he said as he pushed her away. This was not the reaction she had expected.  
  
"Xander you're alive, I was happy. Is there something wrong with that?" She couldn't help but be slightly pissed off with him. Out of all the reactions she would have expected for saving his life and giving him a hug she had not thought of this one. Maybe he wanted more? She was going to kiss him if he hadn't rudely interrupted the happy-you-a-live moment.  
  
"You know it's all your fault this happened!" he stood up and pointed at her. " You let your selfishness allow them to take me away. Where were you? You let them kill me. You didn't do anything."  
  
"I didn't do anything." Shannon too stood up and slapped him right across the face.  
  
"And now you slap me! You're just a bitch!" Xanders harsh words hurt Shannon more than her slap had hurt him. Why was he saying these things?  
  
Willow came over to them. She had cut on her forehead form the continuing fight.  
  
"Xander you're alive!" Willow hugged him but there was no response. "We need your help. I don't know how long Buffy can last."  
  
They looked over to Buffy who was still holding her own but she needed to kill the demon. The demon knocked her away; she landed near where her sword had fallen too earlier. She grabbed it and ran back. Just at that moment she was able to plunge the sword into his stomach. Some sort of green goo that was probably blood spewed from the wound.  
  
Gerathon gave out a slight bellow. The demon pulled out the sword that was now covered in the green substance. He knew his wound was not that serious. He replaced the bellow with a laugh.  
  
"It will take more then that to destroy me!" He again pushed Buffy to the side and turned to Oz sword raised.  
  
"Oz!" shouted Willow. She didn't want anything to happen to her boyfriend especially death. "Come on Xander."  
  
"Back off witch!" This was not like Xander. His cruel words were hurting people and his attitude was attracting attention. He just stood while Willow and Shannon joined in the fight.  
  
  
  
He's not dead. Thought Anna as she realised that she still had a chance with him. She started heading towards him once she realised what had happened. Anna believed that this could be even better for her. Xander had left the warehouse not even looking back at his friends who were in need of his help.  
  
"Xander, come here." She asked. He turned around to meet her gaze, but he did move closer as well. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Like I'm pissed off with everyone." Anna was right this was going to work out for her.  
  
"That's because you have no soul. I'm here to offer you the chance of a lifetime. The irony being you will have to lose it first. How would you like to stay like you are, but stronger and you will become immortal."  
  
"Become a vampire? I would get to live forever and I would become a hell of a lot stronger. I would also get to spend eternity with you Anna. " Xander was different before he would have never said yes. "No."  
  
"What?" Anna was angry but she didn't care she had given him a choice. Unfortunately for him she would not except anything but yes for an answer. She grabbed his throat and brought him closer. This time he would be hers.  
  
  
  
Gerathon hit the floor with a loud thud. Shannon had had an idea with using the rope that had been used to tie up Xander to trip up Gerathon. It had been a wild stab in the dark but it had worked. She had chucked one end of it across the floor to Giles who had just got up. Gerathon who was too busy stampeding around the place trying to kill one of the slayerettes hadn't seen them. Just as he reached from Shannon and Giles pulled on the ropes so that he fell. It wasn't the greatest plan in the world or the most exciting but it had done its job and that's what mattered.  
  
Buffy with the sword held tight in her hand brought it down to the ground. Blood spewed from the demons' body. He was after all in two parts. The sword had cut it in half, right down the middle. Who would it be? Who could resist saying a cliché?  
  
"It's about time he pulled himself together." The person who had said it and a poor one at that was Giles. Everyone groaned. "Well I thought it was funny." Being a very sad person he giggled at his own joke.  
  
  
  
"Help me!" Shannon was sure she had heard it coming from outside. She looked around for Xander he was nowhere in sight, but that was because she was looking inside the warehouse. Once outside she couldn't see him and was beginning to panic.  
  
"Piss off." This time she was sure it was Xanders voice. She looked in the direction was sure it had come from.  
  
"Damn it Xander." Shannon recognised the other voice straight away. It was the voice of Anna and she was with Xander. Bitch if she…. She had found them at last. Anna was leaning over Xander who was on the ground. There was cut on her face that been the cause of the delay. Her fangs were approaching his neck. Shannon once again kicked her knocking Anna away.  
  
"Damn it Shannon. I was this close." Anna indicated how close she was with her fingers the pushed Xander out of the way. He hit his head on the wall of the warehouse knocking him out.  
  
"Wow, that close." She withdrew her stake ready for the fight "Want a closer look at this."  
  
Shannon kicked Anna once again which caused Anna to stagger backwards but she didn't fall. Shannon came closer with a stake ready to stake Anna. The vampire version of what was once a friend grabbed her wrist causing her to drop the stake. Shannon was unarmed but she didn't need weapons they just helped a lot. Shannon blocked a punch that Anna threw at her then hit Anna on the bridge of her nose. Blood began to trickle. Even more pissed off Anna punched Shannon in the face then pushed her through a pile of boxes and into a wall.  
  
Hitting the wall let Shannon feeling a little dazed. While trying to get up her hand came a cross something. It was metal and more importantly it hit hard. Anna approached her thinking that she was close to the end. What she wasn't expecting was to happen was her head being hit like a ball with metal bat. It hurt. Shannon knew that metal couldn't kill a vampire just put it through a hell of a load of pain. She whacked Anna with it one more time.  
  
Anna was fed up with being hit with what looked like pipe. As Shannon was about to hit her head with it again Anna used her fast reflexes that she gained when she became a vampire to halt the pole. She pushed it in the other direction, which was where Shannons' stomach happened to be. Shannon fell to the floor. Anna showed off by spinning the pole around.  
  
"Time for some revenge." She hit Shannon on the head just like Shannon had done to her. Anna hit the floor on each side of Shannon head a few times then raised it just above her head. With enough force she was going to attempt to impale Shannons head on the pole.  
  
Something tackled her to the ground. Anna looked up to see Xander who had pinned her against the floor was also starring at her.  
  
"You're not gonna kill Shannon!" Xander voice was so serious there was no trace of doubt in his tone. Anna didn't like hearing him say such words but if that was how he was going to be. She kicked him off her.  
  
"Oh that's where you're wrong Xander I'm gonna kill her, then you but with one difference. I want you bad." Anna was also being serious otherwise she would have given up after so may tries. The game was no longer fun but more along the lines of annoying.  
  
She got up and faced Shannon and Xander though now there were more people. Behind them stood Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Giles. Quickly Anna went through the odds. It was six against one and one of the six was a powerful slayer. She wanted Xander though but she was never going to get him if she was just a big old pile of dust.  
  
"Fuck this. See ya!" Anna first started to walk then remembering the invention called the crossbow began to run.  
  
  
  
"Are you okay?" Xander asked Shannon who had a cut on her head from where she had been hit.  
  
"Well for someone who was just kicked, punched, chucked against a wall and hit several times with pole." She paused for a bit. "Yeah, I'm feeling fine."  
  
"Stupid question huh? But look at the positive side you're not sporting a brand new pole through your forehead as the latest trend."  
  
"That's thanks to someone's great tackle." She kissed Xander as a sign of Thankyou and because she wanted to so badly. The others had left to burn the two halves of Gerathon. When he had been split in two all the souls that were trapped inside him were released. For some it means returning to a normal life living with the regrets of what they had said during their time of anger. The majority though was finally been given a chance to rest in peace.  
  
"I'm sorry for everything I said because trust me I don't hate you. In fact I like you a lot but there's something I have to tell you and this could mean you not liking me."  
  
"Anya your girlfriend. I guessed who she was but I have to my little speech before you say anything else." Shannon took a deep breath she knew that she had to do the right thing.  
  
"Xander there can't be an us just yet. You have a girlfriend and though you're kind of on a break you'll probably end up back together again. I have to return to that wet little island called Britain. Sunnydale may be the centre of mystical energy and has more than its fair share of vampires but that's why it has a slayer. They need someone who can handle vampires over in Britain and be unknown hero. Plus there's the little case of friends. I may have to continue tracking them down and kill them leaving open the possibility of more adventures that could be on a worldwide exploring thing.  
  
"Talking about things I can't forget the watcher thing. Maybe when I'm all old like Giles I like to continue to help by training a slayer. An advantage being that she can't complain about me not knowing what it's like to be a teenage girl who slays vampires and not understand. I also tell her about my little adventures and you, Buffy etc."  
  
"How about I can come and help?" Xander offered wondering if he would get the chance to help out Shannons' slayer. A problem being for that to happen Buffy would have to die.  
  
"Yeah sure I'll just scribble down a note. RE: Xander help."  
  
"Better not forget because I'm waiting for that phone call." Shannon told him her mobile phone number. He thought it would be cool to have contacts in England or where ever Shannon was planning to go next.  
  
"I better get going. I don't have any clue where to go next and I need to find out. I'm thinking while I'm here I should go Los Angeles I mean there lots of people I want to go looking for including vampires and stars." She knew that if Anna, Naomi and Lynette were to go anywhere next it would be LA. They had always wanted to and there was nothing stopping them except hopefully a sharp piece of wood.  
  
"Cool I've only been about once." Xander looked at Shannon and stepped in for one last kiss but Shannon put her finger to his lips and leant back.  
  
"Don't make another it harder then it already is. Goodbye Xander I hope to see you again."  
  
"Me too may you lots of exciting and sexy adventures with lots of interesting things happening. Good bye." They gave each other a friendly hug and Shannon departed. Xander watched her as she walked further and further into the distance. He already missed her and wished they had only had more time to annoy Giles with sarcastic remarks. Before turning the corner Shannon waved at him and he waved back. Xander wondered if they would ever see each other again and when they did would the situation be better or worse.  
  
He walked in to the warehouse to be with his friends. Yet again Xander had had another bad experience when it came to love. He didn't know if he did love Shannon. There had definitely been a connection but there wasn't enough time to see what would have developed.  
  
"You okay Xander?" asked Buffy.  
  
"Well for someone who has been kidnapped, lost his soul, hit, kicked and more." He paused thinking about the events before " Yeah I'm feeling great!"  
  
"Stupid question huh?" Buffy answered the same way he had when Shannon had said it.  
  
"I've been asked worse. Demon roasting on an open fire and damn it I forgot the marshmallows." Not much remained of the demon, which had for a while contained his soul. Xander remembered what he had been feeling during that time. There was nothing but anger and hatred towards everyone else, as they meant nothing to him. For a while he had a glimpse at what it had felt to be a vampire without a soul with no conscience what so ever. Even worse vampires were what he hated most and he had liked that feeling. There was no burden of the world or worrying about his friends. He stopped thinking about it.  
  
"So what we going to now?" he asked. It was getting late and Xander was very tired after the day's events.  
  
  
  
Anna walked toward a park. She was hungry and she wanted someone to eat. She hoped to find someone wandering all alone with no clue about the real dangers of the small Californian town. She walked into the park. The first thing that she noticed was some vampires finishing their meals. The two vampires starred at her with blood all over their face.  
  
"Anna?"  
  
"Naomi? Lynette? I'm hungry have any of those bodies got anything left in them?"  
  
"Yep I think this one does." Lynette passed her the unconscious body of a teenage boy. The body was still slightly warm but it was also looking pale. Not caring Anna fed on boys remaining blood. She didn't like getting the leftovers but she wasn't so bothered that she was going to make a fuss about it.  
  
"So what you been doing?" Anna wondered while her friends weren't busy leaving Sunnydale.  
  
"We had a go at siring those two but we can't really be bothered to wait too long and I think we had too much blood." Naomi explained. Waiting for a vampire to rise was an unpredictable thing some were pretty quick others took a lot longer like a few days.  
  
"Hey how come you guys left without me?" Anna was pissed off about it, for all they knew she could have been in some narrow dark alley lying there in a pile of dust. She knew she should have mentioned it earlier but quickly was distracted by food.  
  
"Oh we thought you were dead and we just couldn't be bothered waiting."  
  
"Wow thanks what great buds you are not even thinking about avenging my death."  
  
"But you're not dead. Well not dead dead." Lynette corrected herself they were already lacking a pulse rate and breathing rate."  
  
"You didn't know that did you, so go back and avenge by death."  
  
"There's no need though." Naomi was getting annoyed by the argument now."  
  
"What I'm not important enough now am I? You don't care about me do you?" Anna was not finished with the dramatics yet. She spun around with her back facing her friends.  
  
"No Anna we don't give a damn, are you happy now?" Lynette hoped that that would stop the stupid argument.  
  
"Oh I know you do care really."  
  
"Do not."  
  
"Do too."  
  
"Do not."  
  
"Do too."  
  
"Do not." Lynette thought that this must have been one of the most profound arguments they had ever had. The vampires walked off into the night still arguing. In the distance a scream could be heard from one of the vampires, it sounded like Lynette had become very annoyed.  
  
  
  
Gerathon looked at his new body. He had gained control over during the few hours of sleep it had had. The body had been tired and weak which made it even easier to take control. He was going have fun using it to extract some revenge on those who had destroyed his original body. Gerathon was also in need of gaining more strength. When he had changed bodies he had not been able to take the strength of it with him meaning that he would after to start again at the beginning. Though he was annoyed he didn't completely mind after all he knew who his victims were to be.  
  
He couldn't return home until he was strong again. His minions were not going to recognise him by looking at him so he was going to have to show them by extremes of strength. He wondered if his minions would have heard of his defeat. If they had they would either disband or select a new leader. He preferred the option of new leader. It would give him the chance to show his power and he wouldn't have to find a load of new followers.  
  
Once again he looked at his new body. It much weaker then what he would have wanted. There were no demons at the time to go in to and he wasn't sure if he would be able to. There were plenty of vampires but he knew he couldn't process a dead human. He didn't quite understand what had happened to him but it was better then being dead. He smiled at how this way he could cause a lot more damage. Gerathon looked in the mirror where he saw his new reflection. He was going to enjoy using Xanders body to destroy his friends. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Authors Note: Here you go the next part of the story. Please enjoy and review!  
  
  
  
Gerathon walked into Xanders basement to find a girl he had not seen before sitting on the couch. Obviously she knew him but as Gerathon did not have Xanders memories he just starred blankly at her. The girl got off the couch and gave Xander an icy glare.  
  
"Where have you been?" she asked him no clues were given to reveal her identity. Gerathon could not mess up if she was smart enough to work out that Xander was not himself he would have to kill her but he was not ready to have a body on his hands. "I mean its like I don't even no who you are anymore."  
  
"And hello to you too."  
  
"Xander I've been using this time apart to think about our relationship and I think it would be best that you let me talk.  
  
"When I saw you with those other girls and they were kissing you and I'm meant to be the one kissing you. It made me mad, but not mad enough to do a vengeance spell even though it might allow me to become Anyanka again. I went out and kissed a load of guys so we're even now okay. So to complete us making up lets have sex."  
  
"No Anya…" Gerathon stopped Xander regaining control. He forced Xander into the back of his own mind. He knew her name now Anya "I'm not feeling too well but I'm glad that you and I are back together. I care about you so much I don't want you to get sick too."  
  
"Well I'll stay here with you and nurse you back to health." Gerathon had a feeling it was going to quite hard to get rid of her. It did think for a minute of how easy it would be to snap her neck. "Xander stop staring."  
  
"I just can't get over how beautiful you are and how lucky I am to have you." The words made him feel sick. He hated saying them they were just sounded like they were filled with love. "Actually Anya could you go to the store for me and get something for my headache. Here's some money." Xanders' hand reached into his pocket and brought a fiver out. Anya kissed him before she left and Gerathon was faced with someone loving him and he didn't like it.  
  
The name Anyanka remained in his mind. He knew he had heard it before but the name was not commonly mentioned in the demon world. That was it Anyanka had been the patron saint of scorned women and for a thousand years she cursed men who had done harm to their women. Her power source had been destroyed a year ago and Gerathon had just seen her in her human form. Who would have guessed that Anyanka would have fallen in love with Xander who had recently been cheating on her?  
  
Gerathon had the memory of Xander kissing Shannon before she had left. Xander had still been in control of his body at that point but Gerathon had still seen it. He had been at the back of Xanders mind just like Xander was now. The battle had made him weak and only when Xander had gone to sleep the chance had been perfect.  
  
Gerathon could hear Xander shouting at him not to hurt Anya or Shannon as the thoughts had been in his head. He would need to get Shannon to return she was part of the plan for Gerathon to get his power back. She had a good soul after saving so many lives. The recent events of her stopping him and saving Xanders life several times had put her soul on the list. He could feel the energy. Gerathon may have not been a demon anymore but he was still able to do the ritual. He could sense where a good soul was when he near them. The more he got the more the distance of sensing the good souls increased.  
  
I'm not gonna allow you to hurt anyone.  
  
"Xander that's where you're wrong. You are the one allowing me to do it."  
  
  
  
Buffy sat at Giles' reading over some of the books he had given her. Willow was also there, but they were still waiting for Xander to arrive.  
  
"So what are we looking for exactly?" Buffy realised that even though she had been looking at the book she hadn't absorbed any knowledge from it.  
  
"Well it's…" Giles was interrupted by Xanders late arrival.  
  
"Hello people." Everyone gave Xander an annoyed look. They had been there for about an hour staring at pages and pages of such exciting information.  
  
"As I was just about to explain again to Buffy." Giles looked at Buffy but it didn't matter any way he was going to have to explain it again to the late arrival "I believe there is something more to what Gerathon was doing like he wasn't just collecting souls to make him more powerful."  
  
Yeah like stealing my body but only Gerathon could hear Xander speak and he was not going to tell them.  
  
"I think that he was going to bring another demon in to this world which is trapped in the demon dimension. It would be a great help if you could remember what the spell was that he said that caused you to lose your soul. This may narrow the number of demons down." Giles was answered with a blank look. "Do you know any thing?"  
  
"Well I was more concentrating on oh no I'm going to die then I wonder what he's saying so that I can tell Giles. Anyway why are we researching it's all over and I'm fine you're fine heck everyone's fine. Including Anna, Lynette and Naomi who started the whole thing. Buffy you're not doing too well on the slaying field. Plus Gerathon is dead and buried well burnt to a crisp, so I think that you are wasting your time."  
  
"Xander what is wrong with you?" asked Buffy angrily while still trying to work out what the hell was going on. He was acting very strange and the things he was saying. She might not have got those three vampires but she did get another load and kill a demon. Buffy thought that he could be developing issues like she did a few years ago after she had died. She recalled that it had almost got her friends killed.  
  
"Can't a guy be a little restless or grouchy?" Or in control of your friends body thought Gerathon knowing that the only one who could read his mind was Xander and was because he was stuck in it. Gerathon decided he could either walk out or apologise which would probably work out better in the long run. After all he wanted them to be friends for when he killed them "Look I'm sorry. It's just that I don't want to have to go over what happened I mean I was dead for while and it's not exactly the best thing that ever happened to me."  
  
"Xander I know how you feel." Buffy said in a more sympathetic voice. Though the dying part of her life had put another slayer into the world she definitely knew that she didn't want to keep going over that moment. She also remembered how she didn't like talking about how she had to kill Angel just when he had got his soul back.  
  
"Do you though?"  
  
"Yes I do I know it was a few years ago but I it's not something you can repress or else you'll end up with even more outbursts like before." Xander and Buffy had something at that moment. It was a connection; Buffy and Xander used their friendship to support each other in many a situation. It also meant that Gerathon was a very good actor.  
  
  
  
Xander hated what was going on. He could hear most of Gerathons thoughts if he concentrated. He could tell that Gerathon was tricking all his friends and how if he got out of character he could easily think of an excuse. Xander was trying to use his anger as a way of gaining control of his body or at least a limb.  
  
He put all his concentration in to his right hand. His body was standing next to a table and his hand was near Giles' note pad and pen. The hand moved slightly to the right. Xander wasn't quite sure what how he was doing it but it was working. His right hand picked up the pen and started scribbling on the paper.  
  
HELP ME! It was simple and to the point all Xander needed to do now was wait for someone to see it read it and then work out what was going on. Xander re thought through what he had written did it need more details like I'm not me or Gerathon has taken over my body will you please get him out of me as I like being in control of my body. Xander decided the first one would be easier to do. All he had to do was remember how to write.  
  
  
  
Gerathon scratched his hand. He realised that a pen was in it but he couldn't remember picking it up. Something had been written on the piece of paper. HELP ME! G IS IN ME. Very clever Xander thought Gerathon. Xander had been able to gain control of his hand for a few moments without Gerathon realising.  
  
1 I thought so as well. Hey what are you doing don't you dare touch that.  
  
2 Gerathon ripped the piece of paper off the pad without anyone hopefully noticing. He crumpled it up in his hand and put it in his pocket. No one was going to look at that note. Giles was looking at him.  
  
"Was it in Latin the spell?" Gerathon could use this to his advantage to throw them off the trail.  
  
"Yeah I think so, but you know all the those dead languages sound the same to me. I can't really remember the words though." Gerathon was fluent in Latin but he took Xander as the type of guy who wasn't. "There a little bit said in English I think."  
  
"Well if you could remember the English and try to remember any Latin words even if they don't sound right maybe I could make them out."  
  
"I think I heard may his soul increase my power and may it be taken from his body for eternity."  
  
You didn't say how it was meant to be a sacrifice for your demon lord.  
  
"Yeah something like that. Could I right down what I think I heard in Latin it would easier and less embarrassing." He picked up the note pad, which Xander had attempted to leave a message on. Xander I'm not going to tell the truth am I? Remember I'm the bad guy.  
  
Don't forget I'm one of the good guys and the good guys all ways win. No matter how impossible the situation.  
  
"Here you go Giles." Gerathon had just written a load of confusing crap and made a lot of spelling mistakes to make it even harder to translate. You've been watching too much TV Xander I could tell you quite a few stories when the bad guys have won, but as I don't like you I'm not going to.  
  
Wow that sounded mature and I don't care if you're not talking to me I'm just gonna keep talking till it drives you mad. Of course you could just tell my friends and I'll stop right now.  
  
"I hope it can help Giles." Lied Gerathon. Xander shut up; I'm not going to tell them, as I'm not stupid.  
  
Then I guess I'll just have to keep talking. Hey how do feel about me singing?  
  
  
  
The Scooby gang were sat at the Bronze but it wasn't as busy as the other day. There were lots of new people they didn't recognise there. The Bronze wasn't the same as it used to be after they left High School. They felt that the new generation was their dancing with their honeys, attempting to get alcohol at the bar and vampires trying to chat them up. Buffy followed that situation outside.  
  
Xander and Anya were on their first date since Xander had accidentally left with Anna. Except technically Anya wasn't on a date with Xander. It had been his friends who had convinced him to come with them to the Bronze. Xander had been hesitant about going to the Bronze but they convinced him that he needed to have some fun. Anya had invited herself.  
  
"Xander I want to have a dance." She demanded. Anya was still getting use to the fact that she was human which meant that some things like tact or general politeness weren't exactly known to her.  
  
"No I don't really want to dance." The girls gave Xander a surprised look he was actually standing up to Anya, but by the look on her face she was not happy.  
  
Buffy returned from slaying to find that the atmosphere had completely changed. She had missed the beginning of what seemed to be an Anya and Xander fight.  
  
"I don't get you Xander I mean for last few days you've been different. You didn't want to have sex, that's just not like you unless you don't find me attractive anymore which I couldn't understand. Oh my God there is something wrong with you're manly bits." The drink, which Xander had just taken a sip from, was now on the table.  
  
"There is nothing wrong with me." Xanders voice was filled with anger. The girls looked at each other, confused. Normally he would just ask Anya to remember the little chat they had or he would attempt to prove himself. "Look I didn't really want to come to the Bronze tonight, and now I'm going to go." Xander stormed off through the doors of the Bronze. Anya did not follow.  
  
"What's his problem? I didn't do anything."  
  
"You insulted his manliness," Said Buffy "and in front of his friends. I think you should find him and apologise." Buffy didn't feel like Anya being around without Xander as she still found her very annoying.  
  
"Why should I apologise it's him who's got the problems."  
  
  
  
The warehouse was now empty except for a few things. One was his original body. Not much was left of it only some black crumpled bones, what was once his skull and a lot of dust. Gerathon never thought he would see his own corpse.  
  
He walked over to where the ritual had taken place and began to set it up so that he would be ready for next time. The wooden blocks still surrounded the beam he was worried that Giles had taken them away to investigate them. All was ready except for the powder. He would need to find a magic shop to get the ingredients. Then he would be ready. He started to walk to town. All he needed after that was the right person.  
  
  
  
"So, what are you the slayer?" the vampire said as the girl showed no fear of the vampires sudden change of facial features.  
  
"Whatever gave you that idea." Said the girl as she plunged the stake into the vampires' heart. Another vampire knocked the stake that a few seconds ago had been in his friends' heart, out of her hands. Though she had lost her weapon she did not seem bothered. The vampire made the first move.  
  
Shannon removed the concealed sword from its hiding place. It found its place easily in the vampire gut. The vampire curled over in a moment of agony but it didn't stop.  
  
"You should know that it takes more than a meagre gut wound to kill me." He attacked again.  
  
"I know." Shannon swung the long sword so that it cut one of its arms off. The removed limb dropped to the ground then turned to dust. She then spun around kicked the vampire then removed it of its other arm, which also turned to dust.  
  
"I'll kill you for that." The vampire looked funny with no arms, but Shannon felt it become more funny. Its threats were pointless and definitely not scary.  
  
"How you gonna do that you're unarmed." The vampire still tried to kill her by just running at her. Shannon waited. The vampire was coming closer. As she could see her reflection in its eyes she bent down and cut through the vampires legs dead flesh and bone. The vampire fell to the floor barely able to move. She bent over it placing the edge of the swords' blade on its neck.  
  
"Go on kill me then." After all he was no longer much of a vampire, literally.  
  
"No I was thinking more of talking to you about me and my problems."  
  
"Oh god no, don't."  
  
"Yeah I think I'll do it. See I was recently in Sunnydale, you know the place vampires love it there. Well I meet this really nice guy, we have a nice time and a bit more, but then vampires that were my friends kidnap him. He's saved and everything's okay, but I can't stay with whom basically is the guy of my dreams as he already has a girlfriend. I don't see how I could have expected a guy like that to be single. He could of left her but oh no I have to go and stop my friends from the feeding and the killing. So my point is have you seen Anna, Naomi and/or Lynette?"  
  
"Who?" The vampire asked. It could have been a good actor by the way it answered but the way it said seemed more like it really didn't know who were they are.  
  
"What use are you then?" Shannon simply put more pressure on the sword so that it decapitated the vampire. She listened out for any laughter. If either of her friends were about they would have laughed.  
  
Shannon had taken the sword from a shop on her first night in LA. She had seen a couple of vampires in their gathering some weapons she didn't know what they were going to use them for but she had to stop them anyway. Vampires didn't tend to have good thoughts about what to do with weapons, just some carnage, a little blood and more then a few corpses turning up afterwards.  
  
The shop didn't just sell weapons there. Upon entry Shannon noticed there were also some very old books and other ancient artefacts from centuries ago. Some could have been used for evil purposes while others were for protection against evil. The vampires were after a plain wooden box. Taking the vampires by surprise and out one by one she had been able to stop them. At some points it didn't look to good for her, but an advantage of being in shop with weapons was that when you lost your own there was never a shortage of replacements. The disadvantages though, ditto for the enemy. She had grabbed the sword after ducking into a forward roll to escape a nasty head wound the mace could have given her. Shannon hadn't had much practice with a sword but she quickly got a hand of it. This was after she had cut a table in half. The remaining vampires all got a case of decapitation after that. She knew the right thing was to leave the sword there but she had become rather it attached to it. If she had it, it would be used to fight evil and not just get dusty on the shelf of a shop. Shannon walked out of the shop picking up her stake and walked out with the sword in her hand. She just thought of it as her reward.  
  
Another vampire dusted, another vampire not knowing a thing. The demons that inhabited the bodies of her dead friends were somewhere. She could just hope that she would find them and kill them soon. After all, all this chasing and lack of staking was getting annoying.  
  
  
  
The magic shop had been closed when he had arrived but that meant was that he wouldn't have to pay anything. The annoying thing was that they didn't sell people with goods souls.  
  
You're planning to do that spell thingy again aren't you?  
  
Gerathon had been trying desperately hard to ignore Xanders voice but it was hard. It was like having a conscience except well he had never had one before so he didn't know how to compare the two. He just wished that Xander would weaken and fade away but it seemed more like he was becoming more persistent.  
  
A mixture of screams could be heard from the direction he was walking.  
  
Aren't you gonna do anything? Wait what the hell am I thinking? Fine don't do anything be like that, be mister typical evil guy.  
  
A couple of vampires were playing with a girl and what looked like her date, neither of them were expecting the goodnight bite. One held on to the girl and made her watch her boyfriends' upcoming death before they either made her the same or more like them. Gerathon though was going to help them. He took out the stake he had with him and simply stuck it in the two vampires' heart. Being a demon he knew that he would need to take it with him while he was stuck in Xanders body.  
  
Hey what are you doing? You're a bad guy, ever since when do you help out?  
  
"Come on I'll take you some where and fix you two up." Who said I was helping out? Damn it I spoke to you. I just had to say the evil thing.  
  
  
  
The guy had passed out from the lack of blood just before they had arrived at the warehouse leaving Gerathon and his girlfriend to carry him inside.  
  
"Shouldn't we be going to a hospital?" She held on to her neck where she had been bitten. Her hand was covered in blood.  
  
"And are you going to explain what happened? Like they'd really believe that it was vampires." He looked around the warehouse wondering where he put the recently vanished item.  
  
"I say a dog or something attacked him."  
  
"Then they would wonder how come you weren't hurt, very suspicious I bet they believe you did it. Jealousy, anger or just plain psychotic?" There it is.  
  
"But you were there and that makes you a witness." The girl smiled at the guys' strangeness.  
  
"Why don't you witness this?" He hit over the head with pipe. He didn't want her complaining when he was preparing to kill her. People were very fussy about those kinds of things.  
  
  
  
Xander saw what had been done to him happen to two other people. It made feel angry with him how he was there but unable to do anything. Without any help they would die and their souls would in a way be within him. This freaked him out. As Gerathon had currently set up shop in his body and he retained the energy of the souls to give him strength.  
  
"All done now. Yes this is a hell of a lot better. I can feel this new strength surge through my body. Their souls may not of been the best they did just fine." Xander it eerie the way it was his voice saying the entire typical villain lingo. "Now it's time for revenge."  
  
Great how much more cliché can this guy get?  
  
  
  
Shannon walked along 23rd street. LA was a very big place and not as glamorous as many had expected. Her mobile phone rang for the first time since she arrived. She got out her new smaller phone that could be used for global travel, which was exactly what she needed.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Shannon it's Xander where are you?" She hadn't expected him to ring her just yet she thought it could even be a few months before she heard his voice again.  
  
"I arrived in LA earlier this week. No sign of vampire friends yet, but plenty of the other kind. Lucky for me I've got a new toy." Shannon looked at her sword still pleased with herself for picking it up. "Maybe they'll ring me up and ask if I want to hang out or watch TV." She wasn't expecting to hear anything from them for a while, as they had to start their feeding first for her to know. Problem was in LA a lot happened and it didn't all make the news.  
  
"Well I wouldn't hold your breath for that phone call…"  
  
"But why not? I so badly want to be in their popular little group." Interrupted Shannon with her usual touch of sarcasm.  
  
"It's because they never left Sunnydale." Shannon couldn't believe what she had heard she was sure they would have moved on after having no success.  
  
"I'm coming back." She hung up on Xander and headed towards the bus station. It annoyed that she had just arrived and would have to try to find a way back there. Someone was going to have to lose their ticket for her to see Xanders gorgeous smile again. Little did she know that Xander was smiling evilly back in Sunnydale.  
  
  
  
"I've enough strength now to start getting rid of your friends." After he gone got the strength of his friends he would have enough power to get the slayer. He loved using their goodness against them. It was like hitting a goody two shoe with their own shoe.  
  
I'm not gonna let you hurt them.  
  
"What you gonna do? Though some of your friends have special abilities none of them have the one that would come in use about now. That's reading minds if you didn't realise."  
  
I'm not stupid; maybe I'll just…  
  
Gerathon didn't realise it but Xander fist was clenched and heading for his face. They both felt the pain making Xander wish he hadn't hit himself that hard. He had been able to use his anger to do that and he had to discover what else he could do while he still could. The hand punched him. Yet again they both felt the pain. If anyone had been there it would have been quite comical seeing him been beaten up by himself.  
  
"HA! Take that typically evil guy!" Xander then realised that he had said that with his own voice. He had to find the others while he could. It felt good being in control of his own legs again. He flapped his arms around too, then did his world famous Xander dance. He wondered if Gerathon had gone now or was this just a brief set back for him. At that point he wished that he hadn't lost concentration of where he was going as he hit the ground.  
  
Ouch! Oh shit I'm back in my head again. Damn it!  
  
"As you thought a temporary set back when I got that extra strength obviously so had you. Don't worry I won't let it happen again."  
  
  
  
Giles looked at the piece of paper that had Xander had written what he thought he had heard during ritual. It didn't make any sense. He drank some of the coffee that he had just made and wished he had made a cup of tea. He had thought that coffee would had been better but it turns out it would have been better if he had chosen something more soothing.  
  
He tore the note from its place and looked at it more closely. Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. None of the words made sense to him and the dictionary. He put the paper down and reached for his coffee.  
  
"Oh no!" said Giles as he looked at recently spilt liquid which had spread to the paper messing up all the words. Giles had found it hard enough to translate it now he was going to be impossible. He would have to ring Xander and ask if he could possibly remember anymore of the ritual. A thought came to him that could save some time. The pen may have made an imprint on the notepad.  
  
"Hang on a second." Giles said to himself and that worried him sometimes how much he did talk to himself. There was something else scrawled on it in big capital letters. The word looked like help but it was a bit hard to tell but he was sure there was something else written there.  
  
"G is me." G, G, G Gerathon? Had Xander written this? The notepad was fairly new and Xander was the only other person who had used it. Giles was sure he would have remembered if he had left himself that message.  
  
"Hello Giles." Xander had just appeared, but that was only in the case that Xander was Xander. "I need to borrow a book."  
  
"This isn't a library Xander not like I would ever run one of those things."  
  
"I couldn't see you running a library the people in them are all stuffy." Xander looked through all of Giles collection of books. He knew what he was looking for.  
  
"Fine help yourself I need to make a phone call." Giles would have to stall Xander until Buffy could make her way there. He did consider getting the tranquilliser gun but he also considered that Buffy might have it. Giles lifted the phone of the hook and began to dial. "Have you found what you wanted yet?"  
  
"Yeah I have actually." Xander was right behind Giles. He put his finger on the receiver and raised the big heavy book. Xander continuously hit Giles on the head with it, whacking him from side to side then hit over the head with it.  
  
"I've got other things to do first but I'll be back. Be sure not to go any where or else you'll miss out on all the fun."  
  
Xander left Giles there, his body just lying on the floor. For all he knew he could be dead not like he was bothered. After all 'Xander' had what he had come for. He was sure to slam the door on the way out. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Xander couldn't believe what he had seen. He had in a way hit Giles repeatedly over the head until he was at least unconscious. Buffy was sure going to be pissed off with him. Giles would too of course that was if he was still alive. It was unfair that he was the one who got the blame after all it wasn't his fault.  
  
What's with the book?  
  
"It was meant to be a surprise but being the generous demon I am I'll tell you. There should be a spell in here that will expel you from my mind. Well I actually mean your mind. I know this is a little bit selfish but I deserve this after everything I've done for you."  
  
Because everyone knows I love having demons taking over my body.  
  
"That's the spirit." Gerathon continued to search though the book until he stopped and smiled at the page. This comforted Xander in no way.  
  
Normally at this point the running would start or the hiding or shouting for help. Some sort of indication that he was in trouble, but there was no where to run, no where to run and no one would hear him. Xander felt like he was in some sort of horror movie except for the comforting fact that none of it was real. Gerathon began to read the books words, there seemed to be no ingredients needed.  
  
I hope you realise that I object to this one hundred percent.  
  
Gerathon didn't say anything back he continued to read. Xander felt like everything was fading away. There wasn't much of a surrounding but what there was quickly did. Only a few lines were left to be read, then Xander didn't have a clue what would happen. The final syllable of the last word was read. There seemed to be some sort of light show before anything went black.  
  
Damn I missed the light show.  
  
  
  
"Hello!" Shannon opened Giles' door yet again it was unlocked that was if the door could lock. She wasn't expecting a big greeting but they could have done more then stared. Buffy and Willow were with Giles who was holding an ice pack to his head. "Giles, looks like someone threw the book at you."  
  
"No they just hit me with it several times."  
  
"Actually out all the answers that could have been given that sounds almost normal. Who or what was it?" Shannon put all her money on a demon not that she had that much money or actually announced the bet outside be mind.  
  
"It was Xander." Replied Buffy. Shannon was disappointed now she lost all the money she that owed to herself then she recalled what Buffy said. That was not what Shannon was expecting to hear.  
  
"You're kidding me right. Somehow I can't believe that it was Xander." Where is Xander anyway? Her first stop of course was to see Xander at his ever so lovely basement but it was empty.  
  
"Yes ha ha it's all a joke Xanders didn't whack me over the head several head I did to add to this big joke we're playing on you. Why are you here?" Giles was stepping on Shannons' turf trying to be sarcastic. She hoped he wasn't going to try staking his vampire friends as his friends included Xander and Shannon didn't want to see Xander as a vampire.  
  
"I got a phone call from Xander saying that my friends never left Sunnydale and I wanted to introduce them to my new friend." Shannon brought out her treasured sword "I was thinking of giving it a name or would that make me sound a little bit psychotic. Wait that should be a reason to give it a name. Ideas are welcomed."  
  
"Nice sword, fed up of using the good old fashioned stake to heart routine?" asked Willow, Shannon wasn't sure if Willow actually liked her. She knew Xander and Willow were close and thought that Shannon was yet another girl taking her best friend away.  
  
"Decapitation so much more fun, but sometimes I make them wait a bit before they lose their heads. Like not so long a go I cut this vampire limbs off before I got to head. That was a fun day."  
  
"I think we're going off topic slightly here. Xander told you that Anna Company was here when they're not and Xander is becoming an amateur physco." Buffy thought that Shannons' sword was cool wouldn't mind slaying a few vamps with it herself, but she had to concentrate on explaining what Giles had told her. "It's not really Xander though. Somehow Gerathon ended up in control of Xanders body. Willows trying to find out why."  
  
Willow was leant over a bunch of Giles' books there were only a few of them left still closed. They had been researching for quite a long time before Shannon had arrived.  
  
"Have you tried looking for him?" Shannon was ready to grab her sword and head back outside to look for him. Though she hadn't known Xander that long she had become particularly fond of him and would happily kill anyone who harmed him. In this case if Gerathon was using Xanders' body then how what could she do? She didn't want to have hurt Xanders body she found that was one of the best parts of him.  
  
"I may have found something." Said Willow "It says here that what could have happen is that when Gerathon was killed and all those souls were released so was his. With no body of its own it caught a ride with someone else's into theirs. In this case Xander and he took over at some point."  
  
"And Xander, what happened to him?" Giles asked he tried to get off the couch to get a closer look at the book Willow was holding but Willow brought it over to him.  
  
"Nothing according to this book he just ended up sharing it with him but Gerathon was stronger and pushed him to back of his own mind."  
  
"The book that Gerathon took I think that it may have been in order to cast Xander out so that he wouldn't have to take a chance of losing his new body. We have to find them as quickly as possible it may already be too late!"  
  
  
  
Xander opened his eyes to find that everything was all blurred. He thought he could see some light coming through the windows.  
  
Oh shit I've died! But at least I went to heaven.  
  
He found the book that the spell had been him while getting off the floor. Maybe it would contain some answers. He made his way out of the building and followed the wall of the building falling over quite a few things. His vision was coming back to him eventually. Xander pinched himself but found that he could feel pain. This ruled out the weird dream explanation. When his sight finally returned he found himself outside the warehouse district of Sunnydale.  
  
"Okay this is not quite what I expected or maybe hell is Sunnydale it does have a Hellmouth after all. Xander as you say this to yourself I hope you realise that you are no longer trapped within your own mind. Yippee!"  
  
He knew what he had to do. He had no idea how long he had been out for but he had to find Buffy and explain what happened. He also would need to explain to Giles and maybe find some way of apologising.  
  
  
  
It took a while to get there with the stops he made. Xander had realised that he hadn't eaten anything for quite a few days and brought the best thing for a guy low cash and with little care for his health at the time, junk food with sugary caffeine filled drinks.  
  
He was approaching Giles' after looking in Buffy and Willows dorm room just to find nothing, when he saw Buffy. She looked a little tired. Xander was happy though happier then he had expected to be, but he was very happy. He put his hand on Buffys' shoulder. Next thing he knew he was being thrown and landing on a very hard surface.  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
"No use now we know the truth, Gerathon." She pulled back her fist then punched him. Yet again he found himself unconscious. He should have been getting use to it but instead he just no longer happy.  
  
When he woke up he could hear them talking. His hands were tied behind his back, another thing he was getting fed up of being tied up. She had arrived much like Gerathon had wanted her too so he could start his revenge streak.  
  
"Okay Gerathon give Xander back his body?" Buffy started the questions. He had expected a dark room except for light coming from the torch being held over his head shining brightly in eyes. An attempt to intimidate him.  
  
"Why would I do that?" Instead he was in Giles' place. There was no reason to be scared unless you were afraid of books. He imagined that a book being held up and then someone would be really shocked and scream. The thought almost made him laugh but he didn't think it was the best thing to do in the situation. He did smile slightly though. Xander rethought through what he said and the slight smile and believed that he hadn't done a good thing.  
  
"You think its funny I make probably make it so you'll never be able to laugh again."  
  
"Buffy, you won't hurt me." Wait a go Xander sounded as good as your earlier sentence.  
  
"Really you think that because you're in my friends body I won't risk a little damage so that he could have it back. I don't think he'd mind too much."  
  
"Yes he would though." Maybe I should tell them now before I end up with Buffys' fist in my stomach.  
  
"And what makes you think that?"  
  
"Buffy I am Xander." Xander hoped that she would believe him. "That book I found I'm sure that's the one Gerathon took the spell from to get of me, but instead somehow he got rid of himself. Not the smartest thing in the world to do, I'm happy about it though." Buffy still looked at him with her slayer face, which Xander read as 'I don't believe you and I will be told the truth'. "Ask me any question that no demon would know the answer to."  
  
Buffy thought for a second as whatever question she asked she needed to know the answer to.  
  
"Does the name Natalie Dents ring a bell?"  
  
"I think you mean Natalie French and almost losing my head to a giant praying mantis comes to my mind as well."  
  
"Okay what's your middle name?"  
  
"Nice try Buffy, but that's between me and my birth certificate. And my parents, my family and everyone who was at my christening and also anyone else who got told over the years, but that doesn't include you."  
  
"You know mine and it's only fair that you tell me to prove your not a demon in my friends body."  
  
"Your middle name is Anne that's no way as bad as…hang on I'm still not telling you. Believe that I'm me now?"  
  
"But he could have access to your memories making the test a bit of a waste of time." Xander couldn't believe that at this rate he was going to spend the rest of his life tied to the chair. He saw that Giles was looking at the book hopefully he would find something that made some sense.  
  
"Buffy I think that this may actually be Xander." Buffy walked over and read the bit that Giles pointed out to Buffy what had brought him to that conclusion.  
  
"See I told you I was me."  
  
"Gerathon misread the text. He thought that he was getting rid of you but instead he was getting rid of all evils in you and expelled himself."  
  
"So it's over he's gone." Asked Buffy who walked over and untied Xander then she kind of gave him a hug. "I'm sorry for that but hey you guys did it to me."  
  
"It's not over the evil isn't killed it's just made real so that you can destroy it yourself. Basically you face your own fear."  
  
"Gerathon is walking around again back in demon mode then for all the fun at the soul stealing fair. Sounds like I've got some demon killing to do. Does this adventure ever end?"  
  
"Buffy you don't understand. I believe that he still looks like Xander and in the end it will have to be Xander who kills him. He is the evil that you have to dispense of and to him you are the one he has to destroy."  
  
"Oh great fun, why don't we just meet at sunset for a showdown." Xander was not looking forward to going one on one with his evil twin. He always wanted to do more for the group and this was going to be his chance.  
  
"We have to warn Willow, Anya and Shannon they don't know what's going on, especially Anya she doesn't even know that you had a demon in you."  
  
"Shannon's here already." Gerathon was looking for revenge and if they didn't know that Xander was out of there then they were going to find it harder to fight him. He was particularly insistent about killing Shannon, but if he found Anya first she wouldn't know that anything was amiss till it was too late. "We better start looking for them."  
  
She had been out for a few looking for Gerathon and it turned out it was worth the wait. Willow looked could him heading up towards the coffee shop. She had placed herself so that she had a good view of the street. In the crowded area she couldn't make a scene but she could at least get him away from everyone. She got out of her seat and headed to towards him.  
  
"Hey Xander wait up." He turned around to see her. She wondered if there was any Xander left in him.  
  
"Willow just one of the people I wanted to see." They began walking away from the crowds not much conversation went on between them. She didn't know what to say, but it had to involve getting him to Giles.  
  
"So you wanted to see me about something." She asked, Willow was a little worried that everything could go wrong and she could end up dead or running around without a soul.  
  
"Yeah I was thinking about Gerathon and I think there may be something worth looking at the warehouse for. There's also something I wanted to tell you but not here."  
  
"We should really find Buffy or go get Giles before we do that. I mean what happens if we were to get in to trouble or we needed Giles to tell us about it."  
  
"You're right."  
  
"I am?" She wasn't expecting that, she assumed that they would get in to more of a disagreement and then something else would happen. "My lovely basement isn't too far away we could go and use the phone and call them."  
  
They walked together to Xanders basement. Willow wondered if she should continue or wait to get to his place then ring them. She also considered that if they were wrong and it was Xander then they it could be that he could wind up hurt. She wasn't sure how, but it could happen.  
  
Shortly they arrived at Xander and walked around to the back entrance to his basement.  
  
"Willow don't trust me, I mean him!" Willow was sure she just heard Xanders voice but she was looking at him and he had said nothing. The next thing she saw was Xander being tackled by himself. There were two Xanders and they were fighting each other. This was quite strange.  
  
"Okay I'm little confused." She used her powers to separate the two of them. Willow didn't want to see them kill each other before she had any clue what was going on. "Explain or both of you are having you're first flying experience."  
  
"I thought I had got rid of you." One of the Xanders started strangling the other Xander. Willow was expecting them to pretend to be the real Xander; it did make it easier to know which one was going to get it.  
  
"I guess you get the first go then." The throttling Xander was thrown over the hedge. "Xander explain."  
  
"It's really me but Gerathon also gets to run around in a copy of my body and at some point there is gonna be a fight to death. That part I'm not looking forward to that much. Have you seen Anya or Shannon?"  
  
"No, they're probably both out looking for you." It seemed that everyone was looking for someone but she couldn't say the same for the finding. Willow was missing Oz who had gone off to do a gig in LA, but at least she had something to do.  
  
"Great I get to continue with the looking."  
  
  
  
Xander seemed to be no where. Shannon didn't know much about where she was in Sunnydale she just knew that Xander wasn't there either. It wasn't like she was actually searching for Xander; she was more searching for a demon disguised as Xander. Shannon considered that might be time to go back to Giles that report that she hadn't found anything, but she was worried that if she did that she may miss Xander. Yet again she reminded herself that it still wouldn't be Xander when she found him.  
  
"Shannon!" someone was calling her name but she could see whom it was. She was sure that the voice had come from around the corner. Only about three people knew she was back in town and she expected it to be one of them. The person called her name again. She was sure the voice was males and it didn't sound like Giles either.  
  
"Xander?" she could see him further down the road. Shannon prepared to do whatever she was going to when they came closer. She would have to knock him out then drag him Giles' where they would put Xander back in control. Thus she didn't really want to hurt him that badly, as Xander wouldn't want his body to be out of order when he got it back. He was only a few meters away now. "Stop there."  
  
"Shannon I know what you're thinking. That I'm Gerathon and I've taken over Xander." He stepped a little closer, but Shannon moved a step backwards. "He did some spell to get rid of me and it didn't go exactly to planned. Now there are two of us walking around Sunnydale and as I didn't want anything to happen to you I went looking. I don't want him harming you."  
  
"Nice story get it off a movie. I don't see why I should believe you straight away or jump in to your arms." She wouldn't have minded though they were Xanders arms "It doesn't take Mr genius to lie and I'm no little miss gullible."  
  
"If I was Gerathon the evil cliché mad demon looking for revenge, I think I would have tried to pull some sort of stunt by now." Shannon hated this now she was even more confused and Xander was not helping.  
  
"Fine then why don't we go back to Giles' and then we can straighten this whole thing out." This was Shannons non-violent approach but if he didn't she would have be ever so slightly violent by grabbing his shirt and dragging him there.  
  
"No point Buffy took Giles to the hospital to have his head checked on an account of been hit over the head with a big book several times not because Giles is acting more strange then usual. We could go find Willow but she is also out looking for you." Shannon was considering to changing her plan to dragging him by the collar to the hospital but then the doctors would wonder why she just didn't ring for an ambulance.  
  
"So what are we suppose to do then?" Shannon looked at Xander she didn't care if he may be possessed by a demon she so badly want to make out with him. She knew that he had a girlfriend but who cares about that, Shannon had to face the truth she wanted Xander. She was also happy to face that truth.  
  
"I have plan" please be to go to your basement and do stuff thought Shannon "we head to the warehouse find Gerathon, then kill him and you will know that I'm telling truth."  
  
"Sure it either that or we could try and stare each other out." Shannon knew that looking at him wouldn't be a waste of time. After all it still was Xanders body.  
  
  
  
The basement was empty again. Anya was beginning to think that Xander was avoiding her, but she couldn't understand it. She looked at his answer machine there were three messages and they had all been left by her. Anya was starting to think of the paranoid reasons to explain Xanders disappearance. Like he had left town to join the army or a demon had eaten him. There was a knock on the door and she hoped that it was Xander, but she didn't consider the fact that why would Xander knock on his own door?  
  
"Oh hi Buffy." Anya was very disappointed. Buffy definitely wasn't Xander.  
  
"Wow what a warm welcome! Is Xander here?" she asked  
  
"Don't you think if Xander was here we would be having sex."  
  
"Way to use tact Anya sometimes we don't want to hear everything." Buffy didn't really like Anya that much it wasn't that she was horrible she just that she was annoying. It was Willow that really didn't like Anya; she didn't seem to get one with any of the girls Xander went out with. The decision to date her was Xanders though, which brought her back to the reason she had gone to his basement. "Okay then we better talk about the reason Xanders not around."  
  
"He wasn't eaten by a demon has he?"  
  
"No but it does involve a demon." Buffy explained everything to Anya but she was only glad that she hadn't slept with Xander while he was possessed. Then she thought that it wouldn't have mattered anyway. They would have had an excuse if Xander had had a poor performance not that he ever did. Buffy decided it was best to stop Anya round about there.  
  
Anna didn't know why she had returned to Sunnydale. She had had enough problems last time to get Xander and had given up, but she still found herself there. There was one advantage though and that was Shannon who had followed them to LA. She knew Shannon would be waiting for some sign of her vampire friends whereabouts before she could really start the hunt. You didn't need to brilliant at geography to realise that Los Angeles and Sunnydale were not the same place, therefore they were nowhere near each other.  
  
The urge to return had begun about a day a go. She felt like there was something she had to do and she knew it was probably the reason she had stayed longer in Sunnydale last time, but it was stronger than before. The energy of the Hellmouth could have also been a reason for her to come back. It could be some sort of drug, which causes vampires and demons to be drawn even when they've left and couldn't live without it. If that was the case then why was she alone?  
  
Naomi and Lynette didn't want to join Anna. She wasn't quite sure if they actually heard her when she said that she was leaving. They were too busy playing with there food. Anna remembered that she hadn't eaten anything in along time and was now hungry. She saw someone in the distance walking alone, she admired their bravery but they were going to find themselves her next meal. The kill would be quick, as she couldn't be bothered with a game she just wanted to eat. There was a rumbling in her stomach.  
  
The moment she approached her victim she dug her teeth into his neck and began to drink his blood. It was tasty. The warm blood trickled down her throat feeding her hunger. He tried to struggle, but he was quickly losing blood. She removed her teeth from the holes in his neck to let him see the horror of what would be his final sight before he lost consciousness. She spun him around. It was Anna though who was completely shocked by what she saw. She had tried to kill this person before but she had failed and here they were not far from death. Using her nail she let the blood flow from the veins in wrist into his mouth. She wouldn't let him die.  
  
"Drink." Xander drunk her blood without any resistance. This was the first time she had sired anyone. She had attempted it once but decided that she couldn't be bothered with the extra hassle, so she just drunk it, she knew there would be another time for it. Of course it would have to go right. She wouldn't know if she had been successful until the time may rise as a vampire. 


	9. Chapter Nine

There was a plan, but nothing was going according to the plan. Willow and Xander hadn't come back after they went out again to find Shannon. She and Xander could have gone somewhere together but the amount of time was too long for not saying a word. The sun had gone down about an hour ago but she wasn't only patrolling she was trying to find her friends and Xanders evil twin.  
  
"Hello there slayer." Buffy spun around ready for a fight but it was just Spike "What you're not going to greet me with a punch? I must really be becoming one of the inner circle."  
  
"Don't tell me you didn't ask for it." She punched his nose and he would have attacked back if it weren't for the chip in the back of his head. "Look Spike I haven't got time to continue this, but have you seen any of my friends?"  
  
"No one want to play with Buffy any more, about time they all got fed up of you and this slayerette trend." Spike really annoyed Buffy but she didn't tell him that. "Matter of fact I did see one of them late last night he was looking a little pale."  
  
"Xander, was he doing anything evil?" asked Buffy. It couldn't be their Xander as he had rung in to say he was fine, but he did say he was going out again.  
  
"I don't think he really could do anything evil even if he wanted to. You remember that vampire that really had the hots for him for some reason. They were in Weatherly Park together. I saw her dragging his dead body off somewhere."  
  
"Xander." Buffy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She thought about taking it all out on Spike but she knew that she had to find Xander, in the end he may not be dead and hopefully not undead.  
  
"I asked her where her and her friends had disappeared to, but she just said that they weren't in town anymore and she was only staying for a while." Buffy had run off though to save the day and all the other things she did.  
  
Buffy burst into Giles place that was just standing there with a disappointed look on his face. It wasn't her fault that Giles never locked his door. You would think that in a town like Sunnydale someone who knew the truth about it would keep their door locked at most times.  
  
"Giles quick we have got to save Xander. I was at Spike's crypt and he said," Buffy glanced at the couch for a second. Xander was sitting there wondering why he needed to be saved. Shannon was sitting next to him. "And you're right there sitting on the couch. Not quite what I was expecting to see."  
  
"Don't worry I am in danger. I think if I stay sat down on Giles hard couch any longer my bums going to go numb."  
  
"Where have you two been?" Xander and Shannon replied by staring at each other but Buffy realised that she really wasn't bothered by what they had been up to while they were gone. "It doesn't matter, I was just talking to Spike and he said that he saw you been dragged off by Anna."  
  
"I may have noticed that kind of thing and so would Shannon because she's been with me the whole time." Xander looked guilty. He thought for a second and pointed "Evil me has been made even more evil! The evil me, that I'm going to have to go up against, has been turned into a vampire. Damn it! This officially sucks." Xander sat back down on the couch and sulked.  
  
Buffy, Giles and Shannon went to another part of the room to talk about the situation. Xander had been in bad situations before but he had had his friends their to help him.  
  
"Shannon maybe you should take Xander back to his place and look after him while we do some research." Said Giles "I'm not sure if it has to be one on one so maybe there is still something we can do for him."  
  
"What happens if they never meet up for this big battle?" asked Shannon. She had more questions but she couldn't say no to going back with Xander to her place.  
  
"It will happen its part of the spell. Even if Xander didn't have to go through with it I'm sure he wouldn't want to spend the rest of his life hiding. You two better start going while it's still daylight."  
  
"Sure." Shannon walked over to Xander and got his attention by putting her hand on his shoulder. "I think you me need to go back to your house to do some more talking."  
  
"Yeah I think we should definitely do that." Xander quickly got up to get his coat. Together Shannon and Xander were both in a rush to leave.  
  
"I wonder what those two are up?" Giles question was answered by Buffy giving him the whatever look "I do know what they're doing I was trying to be sarcastic or something like that."  
  
"Are you sure that Xander is going to okay if Gerathon turned up. Gerathon I always thought that was a stupid name maybe he should consider having it changed. It makes him sounds like he's a Pokemon."  
  
It had nothing really to do with the first question but Buffy still had to say it.  
  
"If that was to happen Shannons perfectly capable of handling it." Giles didn't look at Buffy when he said it, she could tell he was looking at his bookshelf to avoid eye contact with her.  
  
"There's something you're not telling me about Shannon. I mean she seems to be really good at slaying vampires almost as good as me and [1]--[2][Author ID1: at Sat Oct 13 16:20:00 2001 ]  
  
I'm sure that there isn't any other slayer about at the moment other than Faith. Giles you have to tell me things straightaway so they don't surprise me at the wrong time."  
  
Giles paused for a second. He knew he would have to tell his slayer the truth but he wasn't quite sure how. Buffy didn't deal well with competition as he had discovered from the last two slayers that arrived after Buffys death.  
  
"She isn't to become a watcher that was just the Watchers councils way of keeping an eye on her. As she told you earlier when she discovered that she was to become a watcher she was more interested in the idea of becoming a slayer."  
  
"She was one of ones that was to become a slayer." Interrupted Buffy during Giles big tell the truth speech.  
  
"I was getting to that. For some reason Shannon was showing some of the slayers special powers before she was even chosen. This started a few years ago around about the time you became the slayer.  
  
"The watchers council started an investigation to try to discover why this was happening. The slayer before you was near death when she was found and taken to a hospital. It was thought that she might pull threw at one point but the vampire that had at fought that he had killed a slayer came back to finish her.  
  
"The theory is that Shannon was actually to be the next the slayer but when the previous slayer started to make a recovery it didn't happen. When she did die though for some reason it skipped her and you became the slayer."  
  
"I thought the slayer had to die before the next slayer happened until I kinda cocked up that system."  
  
"It's only a theory Buffy and nobody really understands the slayer and how everything works. This is an old power that goes back to the beginning of mankind. The answer would be a lot easier to explain if she was just half demon or vampire or even a alien from outer space that crashed landed here took the form of Shannon and coincidently had similar powers to that of a slayer."  
  
"Does she have all the slayers powers?"  
  
"If you would let me finish what I was saying I could tell you. I was a friend of her dads, we would catch up whenever he came to London and he was telling me how Shannon was acting differently. She was becoming more aggressive and would pick any fight with anyone, he didn't believe that it was because she had just started kickboxing and was showing a natural talent with the sport. He also mentioned how she had broken her finger at someones house and the doctors were surprised how quickly it had healed.  
  
"Anyway it sounded suspicious of some sort of possession. There's a spell that reveals the demon when the ingredients are eaten. I wasn't too keen on using it but under the orders of the council I did but nothing happened when she ate the very bad tasting strawberry ice cream.  
  
"The council then told me to tell her that her duty was to become a watcher like I was. Shortly after that she started fighting vampires almost as well as a slayer and that gave us the next clue towards what had happened. We believe that the powers that have shown themselves so far are the slayers increased strength and agility. There are still questions to be answered like: will any other skills show, are her powers at their peak, will they increase or weaken now that she's eighteen? They're all pretty similar questions but only time will tell."  
  
"She's got the best of the powers. I feel less unique every day and that they felt I needed more help because they thought I was going to be a bad slayer." Buffy continued to say how everything effected her and why this was a big problem for her. Only Giles could save the day and stop her from whinging.  
  
"Buffy you can't tell anyone this. Only a handful of people know this. The watchers council believe it is yet another mistake that has happened over the past few years and they don't more people to know about it. I only told you because I felt it was best and because I don't give a damn about the council anymore. If Shannon was to know though, I can't think of why she shouldn't know. In fact I'm going to piss off the council even more by telling her."  
  
"Giles why didn't the council tell her? I thought they might be happy to know that there was someone else out there that could stop the vampires."  
  
"I think it had something to do with the fact they knew that they could never really control her or give her a watcher that she even listen to. They didn't want a rogue slayer that they had to claim responsibility for and by continuing to tell her that she was a watcher they believed that this was a way of teaching her how to become a slayer without actually giving a watcher to tell her. It kind of worked for a while but then they became even more busy with you, Kendra then Faith who was their biggest problem."  
  
There was a silence between. They were expecting that one another would say something but no words came out of anyone's mouth for a few moments.  
  
"You can ask questions now Buffy." Said Giles who broke the short silence.  
  
"I think I asked all mine when I thought of them."  
  
Shannon and Xander entered his basement. They were worried that Anya was going to be in there and then they would have a failed attempt at synchronised lying. It was annoying for Shannon though because she thought that she shouldn't have to sneak around.  
  
"Xander when are you going to tell Anya?" she questioned him very early on in the relationship but she didn't want to be the other woman. Shannon wanted to be the woman.  
  
"Tell her what?" Xander knew perfectly well what the question was and he also knew he couldn't avoid it for that long.  
  
"Tell her that we made love, we slept together, we knocked boots, we jumped on the good foot and did the bad thing, that we had sex. However nicely or crudely you want to put it. I'm sure as a guy you have plenty of other ways to describe it and no I'm not asking for a list. I'm not issuing an ultimatum but..."  
  
"You don't know Anya though. She has a bit of a history."  
  
"Oh so she's had a quite a few break ups. She's not the only one in the world and she shouldn't be putting you through a guilt trip because of it."  
  
"No I mean over one thousand years of history." Shannon knew that Anya was older than her but not by a millennium. She was confused. "She had had some bad break ups so she casts some vengeance spells on her unfaithful boyfriends, which got her the gig of vengeance demon for all those scorned girls out there. I cheated on Cordelia with Willow, she came, she lost her powers, and she fell in love with me. It sounds strange but with my history of relationships it's normal."  
  
"So it's not guilt, it's fear. Xander I don't know what you're planning to do? I mean okay you've cheated on her but what would have happened if you wanted to break up with her because you believed the relationship was going nowhere."  
  
"No it's not like. We have a good time and we are in a relationship and I hadn't really had a reason to think about us breaking up. I just want both I guess. Anya and I must have something special going on I guess if I hadn't even consider breaking up with her, but us, we have hit off great! We have so much in common and you've saved my life on several occasions already and..." Xander had to think about what he was going say next. It seemed like everything in his mind was going nowhere. "Shannon I'm happy with Anya and I do really like you but..."  
  
"I'm just a quick little fling which has been set off just because of sexual attraction." Shannon tried to sound like she understood everything but really she was pissed off with Xander, but then she looked at his very cute face and realised that she couldn't stay mad at him. Nevertheless she had been hurt and the only solution was a dramatic exit. "You tell Anya about us and see what happens. I'm just going to off and kill some things while I wait."  
  
With that Shannon did the best classic exit she could do. She opened the basement door and slammed it shut with a loud bang. Even though the door was shut Xander could still hear Shannons feet stomping as she went up the stairs. Best break up ever!  
  
It seemed to him like the first time he had ever woken up. He felt very hungry but this time it was different. He didn't hunger for the souls of the good to increase his power. This time he thirsted for warm blood to trickle down his throat to satisfy the new sensation. He knew what had happened to him he had become a vampire.  
  
This had been his second change within only a few days. It was different though being a vampire was worse then being a human. They were a creature even lower down. Vampires were creatures that sulked around in the shadow looking for a meal and could only appear at night. A demon living within a human body, but that was it they were really neither a demon or human, so they didn't belong in either society. Anything human even if it was just half was despised by demons.  
  
"I think..." he wasn't alone in the sewer; there was a female with him. She turned around when she had heard his movement and he instantly recognised the face. "Hey honey its night time and I think you've just woken up for a new lust for blood."  
  
"You!" shouted Gerathon he ran over put his hand around the females' neck and slammed her against the wall.  
  
"Hey! I don't know if they taught you this in school but when someone gives you a wonderful gift you're meant to say Thankyou. I know you are probably a little grouchy from waking up from your sleep. BUT.THAT'S.NO.EXCUSE." She grabbed his hand and pulled it away from her throat. After that she threw him into the wall in front of her. "See I said that I would sire you and I don't like lying to myself. Plus it can go under the category where the bad guys plan actually went the way they wanted it to."  
  
"No, it didn't." Gerathon had a smirk on his face. He had never even thought about this happening. The plans he had, had seemed to twist and turn further away from the original objective. He had decided that's enough everything would have to be finished tonight before his first dawn arrived as a vampire "I'm not Xander I'm Gerathon and I'm going to get something to eat."  
  
"Wait I'm confused. Last I checked Gerathon was big old ugly demon, not at all nice either and don't forget smelly. Now Xander he's different he's very sexy, with a cute smile and a very nice butt." Anna looked down to check it out "I guess I didn't get the memo saying that all new vampires would be having an identity crisis. Maybe this will remind you."  
  
Anna walked over to the vampire who she fought was the newly raised Xander. She put her arms around him then pressed her lips against his. It did feel different from their last kiss, but she gathered that it was because he was a vampire this time. A confused vampire. Mid kiss his face morphed from human to reveal his new demon half.  
  
"Oh fuck!" Anna put her finger on the wound and then looked at the blood on her finger. When his teeth had changed his into fangs he had cut her lip. Her face had morphed too now due to the anger but she quickly changed it back. "There was no need for that."  
  
"I have to go now." Gerathon was climbing up the ladder already. He pushed the sewer lid up and looked at where the hell he was. He didn't know there were no clues. He was just on yet another street filled with houses and they all looked just the same. He stood up on the concrete and looked down into the sewer from whence he came. Anna was nearly out of there. He picked up the sewer lid and dropped it on her just as she was about to climb out. This made her fall to the bottom. It wouldn't stop her but it would slow her down.  
  
There was someone who was walking down the street he was on away from him. He could see a young blond female. He could see his first feeding.  
  
Xander didn't know what to say. He couldn't just mess around with Anya and treat her as a safety. She was just staring at him. He had started off by saying `I have something that I have to tell you...' and that had been it so far. He couldn't just finish it there and run out of his basement screaming his head off while ripping out his hair. It might make her think that he was just having really early mid life crisis.  
  
He still had time to come up with a lie. He had paused the sentence at just the right place to cause dramatic tension. With a lie the long pause would be an over exaggeration but what could be so important that he had to tell her. I'm gay. No, that wasn't quite the lie he was looking for.  
  
"Anya, I, I slept with Shannon." He had finally said it. There was nothing to do now except wait for the consequences.  
  
"What?!" Anya raised her voice but there was a hurt and confused expression on her face. "How, why did you?" She didn't really know what to say.  
  
Xander sat down next to her and tried put his hands on her. Anya just moved away from him.  
  
Gerathon had caught up with the girl. He put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. She just moved it off.  
  
"Xander I don't want to talk you yet."  
  
"It was last night when we had searched the warehouse and come up with nothing. On the way back we took a shortcut through a graveyard. It was stupid but we just wanted to get back. Of course you take a walk through a cemetery you're gonna run into some vampires. I had fallen over and the last vampire started to strangle me. Shannon saved my life when she staked it but you know it turned to dust. She landed on top of me. We started to kiss and then it lead to stuff."  
  
"I don't really want to hear the details." Anya's eyes were welling up with tears. She was trying to do her best not to be upset, but her boyfriend had just told her that he had cheated on her.  
  
"I was just describing the situation." He wanted her to understand he didn't want to many questions he couldn't answer at the end. "I think it happened because we were in a life threatening situation and it made everything seem sexy. I guess it also made it worse because there was already a sexual attraction between the two of us."  
  
Gerathon hit Shannon to the ground. She looked at him wondering why her Xander would have done such a thing then he revealed that it wasn't her Xander. She jumped to her feet with her mind on set on the task of killing Gerathon.  
  
Shannon made the first move with a blow to the right side of his face. The impact made him turn his head but it didn't make him move his feet backwards one step. He turned his head back to face her but this time it had an evil grin on it.  
  
She hated seeing Xanders beautiful features being turned in the vampire's game face. It was hard to hit him. After all it was like hitting Xander but she also knew that wasn't him. It wasn't even Xanders real body with a demon in it. This was why she knew it was okay for her to stake him. The problem was that she had left the real Xanders house in such a dramatic exit she forgot to pick up her stake on the way out.  
  
"So are you leaving me for her?" asked Anya who was sure that this was the end of her relationship.  
  
"No, that's why I'm telling you this. I didn't think it would be fair on you to keep this a secret. I want our relationship to be honest."  
  
"Well the truth hurts. I've been cheated on before Xander and you know that. That's how I became a vengeance demon." She had thought of the spells that she had cast on the men but even though she was angry with him she couldn't hurt him.  
  
"I want us to work through it and I want us to be together. I guess it made me realise how much I wanted to be with you. I love you." Xander was worried that if he kept speaking this way that it was going to make him sound like he was about to propose to her. For him saying I love you was a big step. He didn't think he had really told any girlfriend of his that before. Oh wait! Yes I did with Ampata just before she tried to drain the life out of me. Maybe that was why he didn't say it that easily anymore. He never told Cordelia it when he was dating her.  
  
"You've cheated before though." Oh great I forgot thought Xander "I just don't know whether I trust you anymore. I want some place to think over things."  
  
Anya left the basement but not like Shannon had. She left quietly. He had two relationships this morning but now when both had left the basement he knew he had made the right decision.  
  
Shannon got up from against the tree she had just been thrown at. A small branch had fallen on the ground after her impact. She finally had her stake.  
  
She attacked Gerathon with a double kick to throw him off balance. Then Shannon whacked the palm of her hand against his nose to make it bloody. He tried to punch her but she was able to block it. Holding on to his arm she twisted him around then stuck the stake in his heart and pushed him away to turn to dust.  
  
"Well I guess that's some of my anger gone." She felt better after her little fight she had even saved the day now. Everything could go back to normal.  
  
The teeth broke the skin and the pain surged through her body. Shannon could feel the blood leaving her making her feeler weaker and colder. She didn't understand though she had staked him. A stake to the heart killed all vampires. A big stick of wood in the vital organ normally killed a lot of things. Shannon didn't understand.  
  
"Giles said that in the end it's going to be me that has to kill him. You know the whole face your fear thing, destroy the evil within." Xander had explained to her about him and Gerathon "It's scary that I'm going to have to have this big one off. All on my own with no help."  
  
"You won't be alone, I'll make sure I'm there. I'll be the one cheerleading in the background." They had laughed and then they had kissed.  
  
References  
  
1. file://localhost/tmp/uploads/147349.html#author1  
2. file://localhost/tmp/uploads/147349.html#author1 


	10. Chapter Ten

"What did you do that for?" shouted Anna "She was my friend when I was alive just before we became bitter enemies. I should have got to kill her." Anna walked away bitterly disappointed.  
  
Xander hadn't felt like being in the basement. The girls had gone outside to get some fresh air and to think about things. Xander was now doing the same thing.  
  
He didn't know where he was walking to he just let his legs move him to wherever. Xander did know that he really hoped that he would run into either Shannon or Anya. Time was going slowly and he needed to know what the future would hold for him.  
  
Xander knew that it was Shannon that he really wanted to see. He felt guilty about the way he had broken things off with her. He should have explained it all better but he was still working things out in his head. Maybe he did love her but it was the same kind of love he had for Willow. They had been happy as friends but then they had been together while they were both in relationships. Afterwards they had returned to being friends and it had gone back to the way it was before. The way it had always been. Xander didn't want to lose Shannon he wanted them to remain friends.  
  
Knowing his current run of luck he knew what would happen. They would make up and hug. Then Anya would come around the corner and see them mid hug. She would think that they had gotten back together. Xander would see the hurtful look in her eyes as was about to run away. He would have to run after her and another bad thing would happen. Yep that's exactly what would happen.  
  
His train of thought was broken when he saw a bunch of people all huddled together looking at something. He ran over to see what was happening.  
  
"Hey what's going..." he looked at the person on the ground. His face went as pale as hers from the site. "No, no, NO!"  
  
He knelt down beside her and hugged her. He couldn't look at her; he just looked at the ground still hugging her lifeless body. He knew he was going to cry and he didn't care. People were talking to him, he didn't listen, and he didn't care.  
  
The thoughts that came to him were of what ifs and if only. He remembered the first time he saw her after she had saved his life. She had kissed him and he remembered all the kisses. The times they had spent together and the times she had saved her life. They hadn't known each other long but they had become close. Last night when they had slept together then he thought of their last conversation. He never said goodbye, if only he had chased after her.  
  
The tears finally emerged themselves. He cried on her shoulder and his head rested there. When Xander raised his head from her shoulder he saw them. His eyes focused on the vampires puncture marks on her neck. His grief was replaced with anger.  
  
He had lost his best friend Jesse to vampires, he thought he had lost Willow to vampires, but this time he had lost Shannon to vampires.  
  
The ambulance sirens distracted him for a second. The paramedics got out of it and went over to check Shannon. They would find no pulse.  
  
"Is this your girlfriend?" they asked him. She was in a way for one night.  
  
"I did love her. That's why I have to go now. I have to find my friends and tell them about Shannon." They would help him find the vampire and he would kill it.  
  
Willow was at Giles just waiting around. There was no sign of the bad guys and Xander was safe with Shannon. Willow was looking after Giles. Buffy had gone on patrol but she said that she would check on Xander at some point to see if everything was okay.  
  
She was trying to read a book. It was interesting but she just found that she wasn't taking anything in. She was on the third attempt of the same page but ten lines in she would lose concentration and her mind would drift off. At last she gave up and put the book down. Giles looked up from his book to glance at her being bored.  
  
"I'm sorry that this couldn't be anymore interesting for you. It's quite demeaning for me. I feel like I'm being baby sat." said Giles they were trying to do research to see if Giles theory that Xander would have to fight alone was right.  
  
"Well it's just that after the hit on the head and the fact that Gerathon looking like Xander is out there, we don't want you to be alone and I don't want to be alone. Problem solved." Giles continued reading his book while Willow just stared at hers.  
  
The phone rang. It was sad but Willow was happy to hear the noise of that typical ring. Finally she had something to do. Giles was beginning to get out of his seat. She wouldn't let him beat her to it. She jumped up and pushed him back into his seat.  
  
"Don't worry I'll get it."  
  
"You know that I'm perfectly capable of answering the phone it my own house." Giles didn't really see the point of complaining Willow had already taken it off the receiver.  
  
"Hello." She wondered if she should quickly tag on Giles place Willow speaking but decided it was just too goddamned late. "Oh hi Xander how it's...what she's...how? I'm so sorry. Xander you can't go out there alone. We will help. Buffy will be there soon if you could just hang around a bit longer. You're gonna have to wait. Xander don't. It could have been anyone. Xander. XANDER!" It was useless he had hung up and she hadn't had enough time to talk some sense into him.  
  
Giles was standing near her. He had been listening in to one half of the conversation. He wondered what Xander had said. He had learnt that something bad had happened he could tell that by Willows tone of voice.  
  
"Giles, I'm sorry, Shannon's, dead." She hadn't really known her but Giles had known her ever since she was a baby. Willow hated being the one that had to tell him. Giles went back to sitting down again.  
  
"How did it happen?" he asked but Willow could tell that this had hit him hard. It had hit him harder then when Gerathon had continuously hit him over the head with the book.  
  
"It was a vampire. She had died fighting a vampire. I know that you want to mourn over her death but I'm worried about Xander. By the sounds of it he's just about to take on all the vampires there are in the world because he knows that one of them has killed Shannon. I told him to wait for Buffy, but he wanted to start straight away."  
  
"We'll go out now and find him." Giles picked up an axe. He too felt like killing something.  
  
Xander was searching through his basement. He knew it was around there somewhere he just wished that it was a little bit tidier then he may have seen it straight away. It couldn't be a remote control and have gone down the back of the couch. He decided to resolve it to going over what had happened. It's under the bed. That's where it had been left.  
  
He pulled it out from the bed. Xander lifted up the sword and it shone in the unnatural light of the light bulb. He hadn't had much experience with a sword but he didn't it would be that hard to control. After all it was just a chase of swinging it and seeing what it chops off or stabs.  
  
There was a knock on the door. Willow had said that Buffy would probably stop by to check up on him. She wouldn't have time to stop and chat they had to get going. He opened the door.  
  
"Hi." Xander lifted up the sword and took a swing at her. As soon as blade passed over the threshold Anna grabbed the sword and hung on to it. "That's no way to greet a lady."  
  
"Good thing I wasn't trying to be polite." Anna snatched the sword from him and pointed it at his chest. "You know that you can't come in so I could just take a couple of steps backwards."  
  
"I can't come in but I can still throw things inside." Anna raised the sword above her head then threw it. The sword flew through the air and land in Xanders chest. The impact caused him to fall backwards but he just got up again. Staring down at the sword within him confused as hell why he wasn't dead.  
  
"What the hell?" Xander pulled the sword out of his chest and noticed there was no blood or hole. It was as if it hadn't happened. "Can you explain this?"  
  
"You seem confused. When you were staked by Shannon you didn't turn to dust then." Anna just didn't have a clue what was going on. She had sired Xander but here he was in front of her with a pulse.  
  
"Shannon staked me? Oh god. It was Gerathon who killed her." It suddenly hit him that the face that she saw last was his in vampire form killing her. This just increased the guilt.  
  
"Can I come in? I think I just proved that I couldn't hurt you. You're invincible." Asked Anna.  
  
"No for some reason I can't be killed but Gerathon was changed into a vampire. I guess there's a loop hole because when you're a vampire you're not totally dead." He sat thinking.  
  
"Do you happen to know why you're invincible because you can't just wake up and be invulnerable to death." Technically she had woken immortal but only kind of immortal. The problem with being a vampire was there were still ways to kill you.  
  
"The spell. It's up to us to discover which one will live and which one will die." Anna wasn't quite sure if he was thinking out loud or talking to her. She didn't really care though as things were being explained. "I have to find him."  
  
"Just because you are extremely pissed off with him doesn't mean that this is going to give you the sudden power to destroy him. I easily snatched the sword off you; do you really think that you are going to beat him? Sure you're a very cute good guy that doesn't make you invincible. Well actually you are invincible at the moment but that's only against everything else in the world."  
  
Xander was now rummaging through a chest and Anna could tell that he wasn't listening to her. It seemed like whenever she did try and help no one would listen. She was getting bored. She wondered what Spike was up to.  
  
"Ah here is it." He pulled out a crossbow and an arrow. "Now I can kill him with out going near him.  
  
"Yep one arrow. You're gonna need more then that in case you miss and you would have to make sure he was off guard so he couldn't catch it, move out of the way, snatch it out of your hands. Look you've gone totally this time it's personal. I'm obviously not going to be able to talk any sense into you, so I'm going."  
  
"Wait Anna." She turned around. "Where is he?"  
  
"Geez it's not as if I'm his mother. I'm just his sire and that doesn't mean I have a tracking devise on him. If you ask me though..."  
  
"I did ask you." Said Xander expecting an answer.  
  
"You'll know where to find him, it will happen. This spell has got to end sometime or just go and look in Bronze. He's probably still hungry even after draining Shannon. There you go and now here I go." Anna realised that Xander had gone a little crazy. She didn't really mind but he wasn't really in the mood. Maybe Spike was? She had travelled all the way back to Sunnydale she might as well do something while she was there.  
  
Buffy was annoyed she had gone to Xanders and no one was there. She had then rung Giles as she expected them both him and Willow to be there. As it was though no one had answered the phone.  
  
Shannon wasn't there either. Buffy wondered if they had both gone off somewhere together, but she thought they were more thinking of staying in. They had seemed to be in such a rush to be alone together. For some reason Buffy believed that she had to find them. She was the true slayer and she could sense that something was wrong.  
  
Xander was alone, he was surrounded by people but he was still alone. In the Bronze where he stood without Buffy, Willow, Giles or even Oz and Shannon who couldn't be there. All he had with him was a bag of tricks. He walked around staring at the club, which he knew so well.  
  
A band was singing a sexy song on the stage about the passions they had felt for each other. Couple were on the dance floor holding each other closely not wanting to let go for that moment in time. They all felt safe together. It was ironic that the favourite teenage hangout in Sunnydale was also a place of doom, where many had left with a stranger not realising how strange they actually were.  
  
The Bronze seemed the right place for a final showdown as much had happened there. He saw the pillar that he had been against holding stake to his best friends chest. He then saw the final image of his best friend Jesse turning to dust. A couple of vampires had then grabbed him and brought him to the front just to let go when they had seen that the slayer had killed Luke. On stage had stood his new destiny. This was where his life had changed; this was where he had changed from a normal teenage boy to the slayers friend and someone who would help her fight the evils that were increasing in Sunnydale.  
  
Xander couldn't see the demon that was hiding in his body. There was going to be another big fight tonight. This one would determine whether he could go on living his life or if a demon vampire would instead.  
  
He looked at the couples again. The song had finished and some of them left the dance floor. He walked on to the dance floor and towards two people who were set to leave the area. The guy bumped into him,  
  
"Hey! Watch..." The two identical faces glared at each other, then at the same time smiled. The Bronze seemed to empty, the music stopped and the people were quiet. The spell had made it so that they were alone. No one to help them and no one to hear the screams.  
  
"We shouldn't fight." Said the Xander that was really the demon Gerathon "While we're both alive we're immortal."  
  
"I don't think that I want to spend eternity knowing that I'm keeping the vampire that killed Shannon alive." Xander pulled out the cross bow from his bag and pointed it at Gerathons heart "It's hard to miss at this range."  
  
Xander pulled the trigger but Gerathon had just had time to nudge above the heart. The pain of the arrow went through his body but that wasn't going to stop the vampire demon. He pulled the arrow out of his wound and threw it at the floor. He didn't wince so to mock Xander of his failure.  
  
"That's never good." Xanders plan of using the crossbow as the quick and easy way out had gone down the drain. He also saw it as a sign that he was meant to have a big old battle as he withdrew Shannon's sword from the bag.  
  
In retaliation Gerathon jumped on to the Bronzes stage to grab the mike stand to use as a staff against Xanders sword. He took the mike out of the stand and threw it at Xander. Xander easily dodged it as he jumped onto the stage to join Gerathon. The fight to the death had really begun.  
  
It surprised Gerathon how long Xander had been able to stay alive. He seen it before, he was just a guy with a load of luck and someone with pretty powerful friends. His attacks with the sword were easily blocked but a few of them were more then just random swipes. He noticed how Xander had become slightly unbalanced and Gerathon used it to his advantage. He faced the bottom of the mike stand towards Xanders stomach to push him to the ground. He watched Xander curl under with the pain that had struck his stomach. Xanders grip on the sword loosened and he listened to the sound when they both hit the floor.  
  
Buffy walked into Spikes crypt yet again to see if he knew anything about Xanders whereabouts or anyone else. She quickly averted her eyes when she saw that he was with a girl.  
  
"Bloody hell slayer! Don't you ever knock?" Spike quickly grabbed his leather pants and put them on as went commando. His red shirt had been thrown to the otherside of the room. He began to walk over there to pick it up.  
  
"Can I turn around yet?" she asked not wanting to see it again.  
  
"Yeah." It wasn't that Spike was bad looking as she watched him button up his shirt covering up his muscular chest. The pale flesh disappearing. Her gaze was interrupted by Spike in a moody tone "So what do you bloody want now?"  
  
"All my friends have disappeared on me, again." Buffy was also in a mood so she hoped that Spike wouldn't play games. She was glad at least that he didn't give cryptic messages.  
  
"You know I'm not some sort of blood hound who can smell where all your friends have got to. Even though I can smell blood." Spike was watching something going on behind her. Buffy wasn't stupid it was the vampire he had been with attempting to leave. Buffy picked up a chair and threw it at the door; shutting it and also threatening her that she wasn't to go quite anywhere yet.  
  
The female vampire walked over to be by Spikes side. It was like a very small line up. Buffy immediately picked out the perpetrator as Anna. That girl was still around and obviously continuing to do things that would annoy Buffy.  
  
"God, aren't you gone yet? You're as bad as Spike." Buffy also had the suspicion that Anna had a clue in the world to where the scooby gang were. "So where the hell are they?"  
  
"For a slayer your tracking skills are kinda pathetic. Forget the kinda it's just plain old pathetic." Buffy wasn't in the mood for wannabe bad guys insults. She considered just getting the stake out and throwing it at her. "You're getting lazy wanting Spike to do all the work for you."  
  
"I don't care about you or Spike but who I do care about are my friends and they're off doing god knows what and could be getting themselves killed."  
  
"Yeah that's right with Shannon being extremely dead and all." Anna watched Buffys face change from the almighty chosen one to so very guilty looking one who had let down yet another person.  
  
"What?"  
  
"She's dead and Xander has gone off to avenge her death. He'll probably end up getting himself killed if he's not careful. Now it's time for you to do the heroics and save the day. Except wait you can't do that this time as Xander has be the one who settles the score." Anna was right and Buffy didn't have a clue what to do.  
  
The sword that had been by his side a few seconds ago had disappeared. He knew where to look for it. Gerathon held it above his head ready to bring it down and split Xander in half much like in the way his original demon body had been destroyed.  
  
Xander quickly rolled to the side and then unfortunately off the stage. He landed with a thud but he quickly got up. The drum that had been aimed at his head narrowly missed its target. Gerathon jumped off the stage so that they could continue their battle. Xander tipped over chairs and tables to keep a distance between them until he could he find a decent weapon. Gerathon had walked calmly over to the bar and had a look at what it had to offer. He chose a nice expensive beer then smashed it on the counter. Now why didn't I think of that? Thought Xander. He then began to run, as he didn't feel like being stabbed to death.  
  
Gerathon caught up quickly with Xander and whacked him throwing him against the wall near the stage. He sunk down to the floor starting another fight against unconsciousness. Gerathon wrapped his fist around Xanders neck and pulled him up to his feet. Xander tried to pull Gerathons hands away from his neck but he was too strong. He held the broken bottle in the other hand ready for the kill.  
  
"I told you that the good guys don't always win." He gave a typical bad guy laugh that was cut short when Xander grabbed the hand that held the bottle and twisted it trying to make him drop it. He then attacked every mans weak spot with a kick to the balls. The glass shattered when it hit the floor.  
  
Xander was no longer unarmed. The sword was guided through the air towards the neck of the demon that had caused him so much trouble lately. The sword seemed to move in slow motion as the memories of recent times quickly flickered in his mind. His grip was so tight on the sword his hands began to hurt. It travelled through the neck swiftly separating the head from the body. He could see the eyes were stricken with fear before they turned to dust then fell to the floor. Xander said no quip to reveal the emotions he felt from winning. He just walked away from it all.  
  
His eyes opened to see his new surrounding. He wasn't satisfied as he found himself back at the beginning. Oh God it's Groundhog Day. The warehouse, the damn warehouse. He stood up but he only managed to walk a short distance before he kicked the book that Gerathon had stolen from Giles. Xander picked it up this time and read it contents.  
  
The book was open at the page that contained the spell that Gerathon had used. After he was through reading the page he smiled. It had explained everything to him and understanding it all satisfied him. He had lived it to see who would have the right to the body. Xander had defeated Gerathon in battle on his own with no ones help. It still did seem a little over the top like the person who created the spell didn't know how or when to stop so they just continued with it. It talked about a messenger who would make sure that everyone was in the right place. Of course the powers that be had chosen Anna who just couldn't keep her mouth shut and just annoyed everyone to be where they should be.  
  
Another thought occurred to Xander. He would be able to see her smile, walk, talk and laugh again. Shannon wasn't dead unless it was really cruel and everyone that had died in the spell died in real life. He was going to have to find out by finding her. This time it wouldn't go wrong. The memory of her lifeless body in his arms would remain in his mind but she would never know it. Shannon didn't strike him as the type that liked to be told about their horrible death. It would be very morbid and very depressing. It then struck him that he would also have to make another decision about should he stay with Shannon or Anya. Technically he hadn't slept with Shannon yet so he could leave it as it was and hope the strong feelings for her would eventually disappear.  
  
Xander closed the book and left the building wondering if he was going to have to repeat the whole scene with Buffy except this time he would have a slightly longer story to tell with many more answers. Giles would like his book back and an apology for the head. He knew he was okay as last time the others had found him. He felt like this was a bit of a denouement with everything turning out all fine with smiles of a kind. He stopped during his typical walk off into the sunset.  
  
"I wonder what Spike is up to?" Xander thought, strangely curious, and went off into the other direction with a tune in his heart and a skip in his step.  
  
`~*~THE END~*~'  
  
This ending is dedicated to my friend sarky_woman who has put up with me writing this story bit by bit.  
  
So after all that the story has finally come to an end. You have no idea how long I have been writing this. I can finally get on with writing one of my other stories. Can I ask now what did you think of it? Do you think that I got the Buffy characters right? What was your opinion of the characters I created? Reviews are very welcome and would be great help! Thankyou! 


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